


The Language of Flowers

by the_albatross



Series: In A Sleepy Little Flower Shop [1]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, One-Sided Attraction, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-07-10 03:35:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 68,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15940955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_albatross/pseuds/the_albatross
Summary: 'Jinkx and Courtney try their best to help Katya confess to (or maybe harass) Trixie using the language of flowers' or 'Violet might secretly be an amazing matchmaker.' You decide.The story features Jinkx and Courtney's view of Katya trying to subtly (read as 'overtly') woo an occasionally annoyed Trixie using bouquets crafted by the flower shop they both work at, along with a heavy focus on their own personal relationships with coworkers and shop loiterers (Willam and Katya). The chapters alternate between Shinkx and Witney-centric while both feature the Trixya development from different sides of the situation. Additionally there is implied one-sided Jivy, minor mentions of Vatya, some very brief hints of Sharon x Willam, and a bit of Courtya smut just for the hell of it.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm feeling so happy with this prologue that I couldn't wait to post it! I've already got the majority of the story planned out so I'm hoping to have the first chapter up in a few weeks with enough already completed to post on a regular (i.e. predictable) basis. If you've got an opinion on whether or not you want the Witney-focused part of the story posted as half-chapters on this story or separated into their own series, please let me know! I'm having some serious debates with myself on how to go about that.

"Pines and Needles - Your local family-owned and family-oriented florist for all occasions."

That's how the sign read above the cozy little flower shop Jinkx had suddenly found herself working in. Several things about that sign required some elaboration. The first thing that needed addressed was the "local family-owned" part. True, this was a start-up business owned by two local women but other than having known each other for several years and living together briefly in the apartment attached to the shop; Sharon and Violet were in no way related to one another...though Sharon was known to occasionally mother the younger woman...usually after nights of heavy drinking. When asked about their unusual parent-child-esq relationship, Sharon was fond of saying, "I hate her like she's my own," often prompting a proud smile from the other woman if she was within earshot.

Immediately following the "family-owned" conundrum was "family-oriented"...Well...It was a nice thought to include it in their tagline, shame it wasn't practiced though. In reality, Violet and Sharon had a reputation for being quite vulgar and foul-mouthed, in that order. Violet was well-known for her lascivious nature; flirting with customers here and there, openly discussing hook-ups and sexual preferences while working...that sort of thing. Sharon was more reserved towards that aspect but her everyday language was accentuated with casual swearing, often managing to slip in at least one variation of "fuck" into nearly every conversation she had. Aside from all that, both women could hardly be considered people-friendly, at least no more than what was required to keep their business running...which leads into the vaguely misleading statement, "florist for all occasions."

The shop itself was by no means small nor did it have any lack of steady customers but it was a bit generous to say either women were true florists, at least not for "all occasions." Yes, they could cut and arrange flowers as requested and make it look presentable but neither had the innate skill or passion for the work...that was left to their employees. That's not to say they didn't help in the shop. They just preferred to stay behind the counter and perform mindless tasks like taking orders or restocking. They knew to leave the more detailed work for the other girls they hired, something Jinkx quickly discovered after visiting her close friend/kinda crush who happened to work there; Miss Ivy Winters.

The story of how Ivy came to work there was somewhere between kinda funny and kinda disturbing depending on your view of logical reasoning. As Ivy described it, Violet had been the one to hire her after what barely qualified as an interview. The shop had advertised for an assistant about six months after opening and Ivy had been one of the few people to apply. She sat with Violet for all of five minutes before being offered the job. Sharon, who had been listening in the background as she worked on an arrangement asked Violet how she came to her decision so quickly. Without missing a beat, Violet replied, "Her name's Ivy; she's gotta be good at this."

The look of horror that passed over Sharon's face was one Violet has yet to replicate as she almost yelled, "Your name's Violet and look how fucking good you are at this shit!"

Violet's only response was to roll her eyes but Sharon was adamant that Ivy at least display some level of skill before they officially hired her. Complying, Ivy took over working on the arrangement Sharon had started and after pushing aside her nervousness, managed to create a bouquet that was both beautiful and contained all the elements the customer had requested. With a relieved smile, Sharon relented to Violet's hasty decision and put the job offer in writing for Ivy to sign.

"See? I'm always right." Violet had told her smugly as Ivy filled out the paperwork beside them.

Sharon scoffed and agreed, "Yeah, for what good it does that inflated ego of yours."

It was watching that interaction that eased any doubts Ivy might have had about working there and strengthened her resolve to be worthy of the job offer. In the coming weeks, she studied diligently under Sharon and Violet, as well as on her own and soon became their most valued employee. It was also at this time that it became very apparent that the two owners had no natural talent for arrangement and after their only other assistant gave notice that she would be moving to another shop, they were desperate to find a suitable replacement. Enter Jinkx.

She was certainly no stranger to the shop prior to applying but she had never given any serious thought to actually working there before Ivy brought it up with her while finishing her shift. "I think you'd be good at it, you've helped me out here before," she reasoned.

"After-hours," Jinkx reminded her in hushed tone. "And neither of them should know about that!"

"But if they did, they'd definitely hire you! You're just as good as me, honest! What have you got to lose?"

It was true, Jinkx thought as she toyed with a cut stem left sitting on the work bench. Her current job as a barista was in no way fulfilling and the only benefit it had, aside from a steady paycheck, was the free drinks. "Okay," she relented. "I'll put in for the opening. Where are the applications?"

"Come with me!" Ivy exclaimed excitedly as she pulled Jinkx towards the front of the store. "We're gonna talk with Violet in person!"

The thought of being interviewed on the spot had Jinkx digging in her heels in terror but she was no match for Ivy's enthusiasm and in just a few seconds she found herself being presented in front of Violet. In truth, Jinkx had always found the owners somewhat intimidating despite what Ivy had told her. She could never bring herself to say more than a few words to either woman on the days when she hung around the shop waiting for Ivy's shift to end. And the way that Violet had arched her carefully plucked brow at the two of them did little to relieve her fears. She felt small and out of place in front of the well groomed woman, then positively anxious once she realized Sharon was also sitting behind the counter. She watched Jinkx with a vague interest as Ivy went on to sing her praises to the joint owners. Jinkx felt herself flushing as Ivy complimented her to Violet, embarrassed by both the flattery and the mere fact that it was Ivy relaying them.

Coming to the end of Ivy's not so subtle please-please-please-hire-my-friend speech, Violet raked her eyes over Jinkx's nervous posture and curled her lips into something of an amused smirk. Turning towards Sharon, she announced confidently, "I think we found our second assistant."

"Uh huh," Sharon drawled out slowly, "And just what exactly led you to that conclusion?"

"Her name, of course," she replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Monsoon...weather...nature...It fits with the shop's theme."

The twitch in Sharon's eye did not go unnoticed by any of the girls surrounding her, particularly as she followed it up with a incredulous whisper, "Oh my fucking god, I cannot believe you!"

With that indignant statement, Violet's face broke out into a gleeful grin, evidently proud that she had thoroughly managed to rile up her pseudo-mother, and casually offered, "Well, why don't have her make a bouquet like Ivy did when she applied? Would that make you feel better about hiring her?"

Sharon's eyes widened in surprise as she bluntly told her, "That's actually...a really good idea."

"Not my only one," she boasted as she slipped past the counter and sauntered towards the empty work benches.

Rolling her eyes, Sharon followed suit, motioning with her finger for the women to join them in assemblage area. Leafing through a pile of orders to be filled, she selected seemingly reasonable-looking request and announced to Violet, "Alright, let's have her try this one. If it looks half-decent, she's hired. Sound fair?"

Violet gave her an affirmative nod after reviewing the order and dashed around the work station finding the appropriate flowers. As she did so, Sharon took to explaining to Jinkx how to read through their order sheets. Jinkx didn't have the heart or confidence to tell her she was already quite familiar with the layout and part of her was getting distracted by the lack of personal space between them. Sharon was hovering close to her, almost but never quite touching the younger woman as she pointed out various fields on the paper and offered little pieces of advice.

"Take your time as you read through the order and figure out what the customer is asking for..." she explained as Violet laid out the flowers and vase in front of her. "Ask yourself, 'What are they trying to say?'...Look at the main flowers they want included and build your design around that..."

Moving away from the table to allow Jinkx room to work, she jokingly added, "And don't forget to breathe."

Jinkx had been so conscientious about the near contact that she hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath ever since Sharon had come near her. She could feel her cheeks tinged with pink as the other women watched her begin arranging the flowers for the bouquet. Using what she had learned by helping Ivy, she chose a vibrant type of flower as the focal point of the piece and organized other complimentary flowers around it. She filled the empty space with feather fern and baby's breath until the vase looked full and finished.

Stepping back from her work, she said hesitantly, "I'm done?"

Arching an eyebrow at her tentative nature, Violet teased, "You sure? You don't too confident about that."

Just noticeably, she saw Sharon elbowing Violet in the ribs all while keeping a neutral expression on her face. With a more assertive tone, she repeated, "I'm done."

Violet glanced over to Sharon for the final verdict and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as Sharon gave the young woman a pleased smile. Moving closer to examine the bouquet, she told Jinkx, "I'm impressed. You do seem to have a natural talent for this."

Ivy and Jinkx could hardly contain their own grins as they heard their sought-after answer; "You've got the job."

Letting out a delighted squeal, Ivy ran over to hug Jinkx and congratulate her. Both of the girls were nearly bursting with joy that they would now be working closely with one another and began making plans to celebrate that night. Somewhat loudly, Violet's voice cut through their chatter as she smugly told Sharon, "Two for two."

The older woman didn't bother to hide her rolling eyes as she announced, "I'll go find the paperwork," and turned heel towards the front counter.

It felt like a dream to Jinkx as she followed behind Sharon hand-in-hand with Ivy. She knew Ivy didn't mean anything by it, she was always more physically affectionate whenever happy, but it still made her heart beat just a little faster and her smile grow a little wider as they walked back to the front of the store. While they waited for the forms to print, Sharon took care of discussing the more formal aspects of the job offer, namely her salary, schedule, and official responsibilities. She'd be training of course under all three women but primarily Ivy would be the one she'd work with for the time being. Her smile was almost starting to hurt as she signed and initialed the papers laid out in front of her until none remained.

Taking the last document and paper clipping it with the rest, Sharon asked, "Do you have any questions awhile?"

"I do have one but it's not really about the job..." Jinkx trailed off. "I was wondering...how did you come up with the shop's name?"

The innocent inquiry prompted three distinct reactions. Ivy, of course was curious, having never heard the reasoning before, Violet's face lit up with a mischievous glint as she glanced over to Sharon and as for Sharon herself...well, she sent a quick glare back to Violet.

Violet's eyes were shining in amusement as she told the women, "Well, about a year ago after Sharon and I just got our loan approved for this place, we decided to go out and celebrate. While we were discussing our business plan-"

"Bullshit," Sharon scoffed quietly.

"While discussing our business plan," Violet reiterated, "I happened to make a pun...Something about 'pins and needles' and 'pine needles'. The name of the shop came from that."

"Oh," Ivy replied, giving the answer deep consideration. "What was the pun?"

"Don't remember," Violet said brightly as Sharon's eyes rolled. "But it was hilarious," she emphatically assured them.

"A bottle of tequila will make anything hilarious," Sharon muttered.

Jabbing her thumb in the direction of the woman in question, Violet explained, "Miss Needles here hates puns...especially plant puns. But I thought it was funny."

"The only reason you thought it was funny was because you were drunk off your ass when you made that stupid fucking joke," the blonde bitterly spat back.

"Sharon!" Violet exclaimed, offended. "You know me, I don't joke...or kid."

If anyone were to come into the shop at this moment, it genuinely would have looked like Sharon was considering all the ways she could kill her business partner using just the pen she held in her hand. To her irritation the death stare she shot at the other woman only served to leave her in hysterics as she jokingly pulled Jinkx in front of her as a human shield. Sharon's eyes connected with Jinkx for a moment before she regained her composure again and smoothed down her hair with a frustrated sigh.

Trying to keep the peace, Jinkx asked tentatively, "So you don't like any kind of pun?"

"No," Sharon replied firmly, staring hard at her still giggling 'daughter', "not really."

Jinkx and Ivy both longed to know why but neither had the courage to ask and potentially annoy her further. Violet felt no such limitation and added in flippantly, "It probably _stems_ from her name."

If looks could kill, Violet would have been dead in a second and perhaps even some of her actual relatives as well. She pulled Jinkx even closer as her taunting smile threatened to completely overtake her face. Another twitch formed in Sharon's eye as she gave serious consideration to how well she could dispose of a body before deciding that running the shop alone would not be worth the headache...it almost is though.

Offering a distraction for her bosses, Ivy asked Sharon, "If you could, what would you rename the shop?"

Without missing a beat, Sharon glared at Violet and replied deadpanned, "'Thorn In My Side'."

Violet's smile softened to a fond grin as she slipped her arms around Jinkx's waist and rested her head on the smaller woman's shoulder. With a mockingly affectionate tone, she looked up to her 'mother' and stated, "You love me."

Rubbing her temple, she tiredly agreed to the statement, "Yes, but the reason why escapes me."

Ignoring the close proximity of her handsy new boss, Jinkx found herself admiring the somewhat adorable way these two bickered with each other. Ivy caught her attention with a knowing smile as if to say, 'See what I mean?' and flicked her eyes between Sharon and Violet. Returning the smile, Jinkx had to admit she was looking forward to working with all three of them for the foreseeable future. It would be interesting to say the least. Taking the silence as a cue to wrap things up, Sharon advised Jinkx that her official starting date would be the following Monday and dismissed the girls to go home early, stating that she would take over completing the day's orders in Ivy's place.

As Ivy gathered her belongings and debated with her new coworker on how to properly celebrate, Violet followed Sharon back to the work benches. "You're welcome," she said brightly in sing-songy tone.

"For what?" Sharon asked, completely un-amused.

"You know..." she insisted.

Sharon took to ignoring the young woman completely as their assistants called out a quick thanks and left the shop holding hands once more. She made it point not to look anywhere other than at the miserable looking bouquet in front of her but she was well aware that Violet was watching with a teasing smirk. Turning her head just slightly, she arched an eyebrow and silently dared her to say something. Never one to miss a chance to antagonize her business partner, Violet proposed, "Maybe we should change the shop's name..."

Knowing a punchline was on it's way, Sharon reluctantly took the bait with a mocking, "Oh? And I take it you have something in mind?"

Violet could hardly control her grin as she nodded her head and proudly said, "Uh-huh...'Pining Away'."

No sooner had the words slipped out than Violet found a vase of dirty, used water being dumped over her head. Through her laughter, she found Sharon storming off and muttering something about 'taking a fucking smoke break.' Calling out one final time, Violet further jabbed, "Maybe this will help us _grow_ closer!" and studiously ducked as a cluster of broken flower stems sailed towards her from the back of the shop. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still on the fence for how I'll be uploading the chapters to seperate the Shinkx-centric story from the Witney side but I'll figure it out. Trixya will be appearing in both stories but with the direction I'm taking right now, it'll probably end up featuring more heavily in the Witney chapters. And I will be catching AQ up to the same point as where this chapter leaves off within the next week or so.

With her mandatory green apron tied around her waist, Jinkx took in a deep sigh and entered the shop for her first day of work. Always one to be punctual, she had arrived 15 minutes earlier than her official start time and was quite surprised to find the store dark and empty. Feeling almost like an intruder, Jinkx carefully made her rounds through the various areas and flicked on each of the light switches. The counter at the front of the store held most of the controllers for the overhead lighting but the work tables in the alcove and the walk-in cooler each had their own separate switches.  
  
Aside from main display area, the shop also had a second split level that ran like a balcony across three of the four walls. The majority of the items kept up there were non-perishables; care guides, plant food, vases, various knickknacks, you name it. Anything that didn’t require constant attention was stored out of the way and often forgotten until a curious customer decided to brave the stairs and explore the second floor. Jinkx knew the layout up there rather well; she often had found herself observing the customers (and sometimes Ivy at the work benches) from behind the railing. It provided the perfect eagle-eye view of the shop while remaining unobtrusive. Luckily, the entire lighting system for that floor was operated by a single switch at the bottom of the stairs so there was no need to hike up all those steps every day.  
  
The final area Jinkx knew of that was commonly used was the employee break room. Inside there were a total of four doors; one that connected you with the main shop, one to enter the auxiliary storage room, one to access the delivery area in the back of the building (very useful for smoke breaks), and the final door, as Jinkx discovered about five seconds after turning on the lights, was the one that led to Sharon’s apartment.  
  
The two seemed equally stunned to see one another as their eyes connected from across the room. Sharon had a look of sleepy surprise plastered on her face, having been awoken much earlier than usual by strange noises in the shop, and Jinkx was quickly turning as red as her hair as she tried not to stare at her new boss standing front of her in some rather skimpy night clothes. Neither quite knew what to say but as if on cue, each broke the silence at the same time.  
  
“What-” Sharon mumbled tiredly before being cut off by a yawn.  
  
“I’m sorry!” Jinkx blurted out in embarrassment.  
  
Chuckling softly and rubbing at her eyes, the blonde stepped forward and closed the door behind her. Before it shut entirely, Jinkx could make out what seemed to be a very cozy living room. “What are you doing here so early?” Sharon asked with a sleepy, amused smirk as she immediately made her way to the coffee maker.  
  
“I’m really sorry,” Jinkx apologized, darting her eyes anywhere that wasn’t Sharon. “I totally forgot you lived next door! I’m so used to coming in early to open the coffee shop, I didn’t think-”  
  
“Hey, it’s okay,” Sharon interrupted politely as she turned on the machine to begin heating the water. “Just startled me a bit to hear someone walking around over here.”  
  
“Oh, god. Sorry, I didn’t realize I was being that loud,” Jinkx exclaimed in embarrassment.  
  
“I wouldn’t say you were being _loud,”_ Sharon explained in a sluggish tone as the coffee pot slowly began to fill, “I fell asleep on the couch last night and the walls are pretty thin anyway…I can usually hear Violet running her mouth whenever she’s back here…And you don’t need to keep apologizing,” she added with a small smile hiding behind her leftover makeup from the previous day.  
  
Jinkx felt the corners of her lips curl upwards as she listened to Sharon’s drowsy voice draw out each word like she was desperately searching her sleep-addled mind for anything coherent to say. She was all too familiar with the need to consume vast amounts of coffee to get going in the morning. That had been part of the reason she became a barista in the first place; she needed some way to make money and curb the cost of her caffeine habit.  
  
As the steady stream of coffee finally slowed to a drip, Sharon rummaged through the cabinets for empty mugs, as well as something else that seemed to be hidden in the far depths of the shelving. Jinkx tried to focus her curiosity solely on what Sharon was searching for but her eyes kept drawing back to the small sliver of midsection that became exposed as she stretched her arm into the cluttered mess.  
  
“Don’t tell Vi these are back here, okay?” Sharon said distractedly as she pulled out a loose cigarette and a lighter from behind decaf coffee can.  
  
“She doesn’t like you smoking?” Jinkx asked innocently.  
  
Rolling her eyes, Sharon muttered as she poured the first mug, “More like she’d want to smoke them herself.”  
  
Jinkx’s eyes widened in surprise as Sharon handed her the first steaming mug and directed her where to find the sugar and creamer. Noticing that Sharon drank it black in addition to the cigarette, Jinkx opted to try it that way herself. Normally she would mix in all sorts of additives; cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, caramel; anything to make it more palatable but watching Sharon clutching her cup like a lifeline and downing the liquid, hot as was, made her want to try something different for a change.  
  
The second it touched her tongue, however, she immediately regretted her choice. It was bitter and nearly scalding her mouth but she still pushed herself to swallow as large a gulp as she could manage. Showing any sign of distaste for the coffee would be like admitting defeat and some deep part of her ached to have Sharon think well of her.  
  
They drained their mugs in relative silence for several minutes; Jinkx fighting back a grimace from appearing on her face with each swig and Sharon slowly joining the land of the fully functional as she took drag after drag of her cigarette. In the time it took the red-head to drink even half of her cup, Sharon was already finished and pouring her second. Feeling decidedly more awake, she asked Jinkx, “How’d you get in here anyway?”  
  
The young woman’s cheek tinged with pink as she replied, “Ivy is letting me borrow her spare key until Violet gets a set copied for me…she said it should be done in a few days.”  
  
With a pitying smirk, Sharon informed her, “Plan on at least another week before seeing those keys. Took her almost a month to get me mine and I own half of the damn shop.”  
  
“Oh! Um, thanks. I’ll let Ivy know too…” Jinkx said uncomfortably.  
  
Arching her brow at the behavior, Sharon added in, “Don’t get the wrong idea of Violet; she can be stubborn and forgetful and downright annoying as fuck sometimes but she’s got a good heart…and she _is_ responsible, she just prioritizes things differently…Like your apron for instance; she made sure you had that long before today, right?”  
  
“Yeah, she called me a few days ago to make sure I had a chance to pick it up before my shift,” Jinkx replied in growing interest as she toyed with the hem of her apron.  
  
“That right there is how she operates,” Sharon explained, “The apron is a more immediate need because you are going to use that every time you’re working. The key isn’t as important because you’re never really going to be here alone, at least not at first. One of us should always be here to open the door for you if need be. I imagine Ivy’s coming in shortly to help open?”  
  
“Uh-huh! She always comes in at least 30 minutes early whenever she has the first shift,” Jinkx affirmed with a nod. She wasn’t going to answer how she knew that little fact so well but she doubted Sharon cared enough to ask anyway.  
  
“See? In her mind, Violet made sure you had what you absolutely needed for your first day. It probably never occurred to her that you might be an early riser and get here before anyone else.”  
  
Seeing Sharon’s point, Jinkx gave a small noise of realization and stated, “Oh, I get it!”  
  
With a fond grin, Sharon put forth one final insight to Violet’s personality, “We may argue some times about how she goes about it but she’s got a good head for running this shop…She’s observant…She can see things long before I do because she takes an interest…sometimes misguided, but she does pay attention…and is usually just damn lucky. I’d probably be sunk if I tried running this place by myself…”  
  
Jinkx almost let out an involuntary noise of affection at the confession but Sharon quickly recovered by threatening, “And if you _ever_ tell anyone, especially Violet, I said that; you can consider yourself fertilizer for those flowers out front, got it?”  
  
“Got it,” Jinkx affirmed with a disbelieving smile.  
  
Knowing she was unconvinced, Sharon broke her facade with a wink, confident that Jinkx wouldn’t breath a word of their conversation to anyone. Side-eyeing her just a bit, she added in jokingly, “And don’t be nervous about working here; neither of us is going to bite…unless that’s your thing, then no promises.”  
  
At once, Jinkx felt her cheeks flare up and even the bitter coffee became a welcome distraction for her. She focused all her attention on her half empty mug and solidly refused to look anywhere else until her racing heartbeat returned to normal. Unbeknownst to her, Sharon’s eyes had softened considerably as she took in the adorable display of embarrassment the red-head had shown. Walking towards her apartment with her cigarette, lighter and mug in one hand, Sharon paused with the door slightly cracked and turned back to ask, “Want to come over for a little-”  
  
The remainder of her offer was cut off by the sound of the shop’s front door being hurriedly opened and closed, shortly after followed by a call of, “Jinkx? Jinkxy, you in here yet?”  
  
“Yeah, I’m in the back!” she yelled back.  
  
“Maybe next time,” Sharon said with her sleepy smile firmly in place once more. “Good luck,” she wished as she disappeared next door.

*******************

With the help of the other women, Jinkx quickly became accustomed to the shop and settled into her new job with relative ease. In just a few weeks, both she and Ivy had garnered quite a reputation as being on par with some of the best florists in town and foot traffic for the shop had increased several times over. Their unique arrangements combined with the very reasonable pricing made the store a local hot spot, especially among those who preferred to support 'family' businesses rather than chain stores. Pretty soon there was even talk of hiring a third assistant but to date, no serious prospects had emerged. If she had to be honest with herself, Jinkx actually preferred it that way. She liked feeling busy while she worked; the days where the shop was empty and there were no orders to be filled were pretty boring to her.

Plus, and it was entirely selfish; she liked the dynamic that was going on between the four of them. She adored spending time with Ivy as they worked on arrangements together, she loved listening to Sharon and Violet bicker endlessly about the stupidest things, she even looked forward to the times when Violet would fall into 'business mode' and argue with suppliers for better prices or products...also, quickly becoming her favorite was the few minutes in the morning where it was just her and Sharon chatting in the break room before the shop opened for the day.

The first time Jinkx was officially left in charge of opening the shop, she was quite surprised to see the lights already on in the break room. Part of her had thought that perhaps one of the other women simply forgot to turn it off the previous night and was tempted to leave it at that but curiosity compelled her to walk into the room and investigate. To her astonishment, she found Sharon sitting at the table, mug in one hand and cigarette in the other, dressed yet again in a rather thin camisole and tiny shorts that hugged tightly at every curve. A book laid open in front of her but Jinkx wondered if even a single word was registering with her, if the glazed-over look in her eyes was anything to judge by.

She was almost backing out of the room in embarrassment when Sharon's voice echoed in her ears, "Gonna grab a mug or just keep staring?"

Meekly, Jinkx shuffled into the room with pink cheeks and poured herself a cup of coffee (black because she could feel Sharon's eyes on her). As soon as she turned around from the coffee pot, her suspicions of being watched were confirmed and her gaze locked with Sharon's. The older woman gave a small jerk of her head towards the empty chair across from her and within seconds Jinkx found herself facing the blonde and trying not to let her eyes drop any lower than Sharon's slightly smeared crimson lips.

The situation felt vaguely reminiscent of the few times she had been called to the principal's office as a child but like then, she was certain she was not in trouble. Even with that rational line of thought, Jinkx still felt an unusual queasiness in her stomach as she sat opposite from Sharon. Noticing her discomfort, the older woman gave her a calming smile and told her, "Don't look so scared, I just wanted to check in with you."

Feeling somewhat at ease, Jinkx answered the polite inquiries, slowly allowing herself to become more relaxed in Sharon's presence. Before she realized it, their work-related conversation had turned into a personal one albeit in a somewhat limited fashion. They were just beginning to discuss less generic topics when Jinkx chanced a glance down at her phone and found that the shop was due to open in just a few minutes. She excused herself, downing the last of her lukewarm coffee in a quick gulp, and dashed out to finish preparing the shop for the first wave of customers.

Slowly but surely, the early morning conversations became a welcome part of Jinkx's routine. Whenever she found her name listed under the rotation for the first shift, Jinkx felt a little jolt of anticipation for another chance to chat with her boss. That wasn't to say they didn't speak during their afternoon or night shifts, it was just that those conversations tended to be more subdued. It was the peace and solitude as they conversed over their coffee that Jinkx felt she really got to know Sharon, blunt behavior aside. Ivy and Violet would gladly fill the afternoon or evening with their own chatter, but Jinkx felt the morning ought to be reserved for Sharon alone.

In the beginning though, Jinkx was admittedly a bit suspicious of the behavior. A few weeks after their coffee breaks had become a regular thing, paranoia creeped at the edges of Jinkx's mind and she decided to broach the topic with Ivy. She longed to know if Sharon was just being courteous or if she actually was trying to be friendly in her own brusque way.

"Hey Ives," the redhead began one day as they worked in the alcove on the day's orders, "When you open the shop in the morning...do you ever see Sharon in the break room?"

"Mm...sometimes," Ivy said distractedly as she carefully positioned the more delicate flowers of her bouquet amongst the filler greenery.

"Does she...do anything while she's in there?" Jinkx asked, trying to sound casual as she cut the stems for her newest project.

Tying the ribbon around her vase, Ivy replied, "Usually she's just parked in front of the coffee pot...I think I've seen her smoking at the table once or twice. Why?"

Flustered, Jinkx covered for herself by saying, "I was just wondering...I've seen her back there when I open...Does she ever talk to you?"

Ivy's head immediately shot up at the question and she took a moment to study Jinkx's expression. Coming to the entirely wrong conclusion, Ivy said sympathetically, "Oh, Jinkx, it's nothing personal! She's just not much of a talker in the morning. Neither is Violet really. Those two are practically zombies whenever they're up that early. I don't think they really wake up until closer to lunch, to be honest."

Blushing, Jinkx muttered, "That's not really-I mean...Thanks, Ivy."

"Try talking to her in the afternoons," Ivy put in helpfully, "I'm sure she'll be happy to chat then. And really, don't worry about it; she likes you, so does Violet...and me of course!" she added with a bright smile.

All Jinkx could do was nod and hope her face wasn't as red as it felt. She had no idea how to explain to Ivy that she had the completely wrong idea as to what Sharon was like with her in the mornings; a zombie, yes, but more than willing to chat. As that realization dawned on her, it made those moments she shared with her boss feel just a little more special. Particularly as Sharon was occasionally willing to lower her guard and reveal some of the anxieties she has about running the shop. Most of it was pretty normal; will business keep up, do they have enough security at night, and the most recent cause of concern; should they hire another assistant? Sharon was worried about the financial aspects of adding another florist and the more interpersonal reasons; would lightning strike a third time and provide someone that is both talented and fits in with the shop?

Either luckily or unluckily, Sharon didn't have to ponder the situation for very long before Violet took a hand yet again and hired their third and final addition to the shop's family; a cute little blonde that sounded as though she were fresh off the boat.

Jinkx had just walked through the front door to begin her afternoon shift when she heard Sharon's sarcastic voice resonating from behind the counter, "Let me guess, this one's name is Daisy or Lily or some shit?"

Jinkx could practically hear the smirk through Violet's tone as she replied, "Nope...it's Courtney."

"Right," Sharon said un-amused, "And what's her last name then?"

"'Act'," the blonde replied politely. Even though it was just one word, her accent was quite apparent and it seemed to catch both Jinkx and Sharon by surprise.

Jinkx did her best to remain unobtrusive as the two owners hashed things out but every so often she found her eyes wandering back to the Aussie as she set to work on the day's orders. From the brief glances she stole towards the front of the shop, she quite surprised by how adorable the young woman was. It was rather obvious by now that she had not expected to be interviewed that day (or perhaps interrogated is more appropriate) but she still looked very well put together. Her entire look was not as meticulously crafted as Violet's but the two could easily be evaluated on the same scale with little distinction.

Today Violet was wearing a very unique, if somewhat vintage, dress that undoubtedly would turn heads when she left the shop while Courtney had on a more casual, off-the-shoulder cream sweater and dark jeans. Violet was in her usual plain stilettos that gave her at least an extra 4 inches while Courtney made due with a pair of strappy kitten heels that could easily be mistaken for sandals. Her hair was left in loose curls that fell to her mid back while Violet's was carefully styled and pinned up to keep from brushing against her neck as she worked. The final difference between the two was their choice in make up. Courtney clearly favored a more natural look, almost as if she weren't wearing any at all, whereas Violet sharply contrasted with her very exact, very precise style using bolder colors perfectly contoured to suit her face. In all the two looked like complete opposites, yet standing together they seemed to complement each other very well.

Even with the distance she kept from the three, Jinkx could see that Courtney was feeling quite intimidated by the older woman. Still, she was trying her best to make a good first impression and kept her bright smile firmly in place as Sharon glanced suspiciously between her and Violet. Jinkx was fully expecting the owners to escort the young blonde to the work benches for the same type of trial run she and Ivy had been given but to her utter shock, Sharon simply gave a defeated sigh and turned around to begin printing off another copy of the new employee forms. Her jaw actually dropped slightly as Sharon handed over the papers without a fight and began instructing the Aussie where to sign and initial. Jinkx couldn't even bring herself to pretend to work as she watched the older blonde glaring at her business partner in silence as Courtney focused on completing the paperwork as quickly as possible.

As soon as she was done, both she and Violet left the shop rather quickly with Violet pausing to send a pointedly smug smirk towards Sharon. The second the door had shut, the older woman bolted away from the counter and called out to Jinkx to watch the shop for a few minutes while she took a smoke break. She nodded her head in confirmation but she doubted Sharon saw it as she sped across the shop's floor towards the back. Jinkx longed to follow after her to try and talk or calm her down, her heart actually ached to do so, but her body remained firmly in place. She had never seen anyone so obviously seething before; it was almost a wonder that she had kept her voice and expression as calm as she did while Violet and Courtney were present.

Within a few seconds of Sharon entering the back room, Ivy came bursting through the door as though she were being pursued by an unspeakable monster. Spotting Jinkx at the work tables, she immediately made her way over to find out what the hell had happened in the 10 short minutes she had been back there taking a break. "We have a new assistant," Jinkx replied ominously.


	3. Chapter 3

"She's just so infuriating!" Sharon all but yelled during one of their morning coffee breaks.

It had been about three weeks since Courtney had started working in the shop but Sharon's frustration with Violet still had not abated yet. It had created a stormy atmosphere whenever Sharon worked with the other two; her all but unspoken anger with Violet and her deeply suspicious attitude towards Courtney. However, in the short time Jinkx had worked with the Australian girl, she found that she quite liked her. She was pleasant to talk to, unbelievably easy going and understanding, and she had picked up the job's duties very quickly. From what she had learned from both the Aussie herself and Sharon's miscellaneous comments, Courtney had in fact worked as a florist previously. She left her position in her original shop for a better paying office job but soon found that she wasn't as happy there. Once the office gave word that they were relocating to a nearby city, Courtney took this as opportunity to return to her roots, so to speak.

"It was one thing to offer a job to you and Ivy right in front of me but it's another thing entirely to go behind my back and hire someone without even talking to me about it! I'm not saying that Courtney isn't talented, because she is, even when I called her previous shop, they still wanted her back, but fuck! I just can't deal with Violet sometimes!" Sharon ranted on.

Choosing her words carefully, Jinkx asked her boss, "Do you think maybe she did this just to push your buttons?"

"Oh, I'm sure she did," Sharon agreed with an eye roll. "She's always known how to that better than anyone else...except maybe Willam."

Jinkx gave a noise of acknowledgement as she sipped her coffee (still black but it was growing on her) and scooted her chair closer to Sharon's. "What gets me," the blonde continued emphatically, "is that I just can't figure out how those two even found each other! I looked at all the resumes and applications we've received and Courtney has never applied here. And whenever I ask Violet, she just gives me that stupid little smirk and shrugs it off!"

Deciding to take a chance, Jinkx closed her hand around Sharon's in an attempt to calm her down and suggested very gently, "Well, if Violet won't tell you, why not ask Courtney about it?"

Sharon stared at her dumbfounded. It seems as though that thought had never crossed her mind. Running her thumb absently against Jinkx's, she pondered softly, "Yeah...that might work...Thanks!"

The smile Sharon gave her left her feeling more awake than any amount of coffee ever could as her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. Doing her best to ignore the fact that Sharon still had not let go of her hand, she brightly replied back, "Any time," and took another sip of coffee without so much as a flinch at the taste.

**********************

Whether or not Sharon actually got around to asking Courtney how she came to meet Violet was something Jinkx never really found out. The tension between Sharon and the other women seemed to die out almost as quickly as it started. When Jinkx dared to hint at it one morning, Sharon just replied vaguely that it wasn't an issue anymore. Leaving it at that, Jinkx reveled in the fact that the shop was once again peaceful...almost too much though.

She wasn't sure if it was the change in weather or if it was because there was now another person helping out but the shop seemed less busy than it had a few weeks ago. When she counted the number of orders to be filled, it was always right around the usual amount and of course there were still the predictable rushes of customers in the morning and evening but foot traffic during the middle of the day seemed...less frequent.

Jinkx found herself struggling to find tasks to keep her busy when her normal duties were completed. The other women didn't seem to mind the breaks, Violet especially, but when left without distractions for too long, Jinkx became antsy. She welcomed the times in the afternoon whenever someone would come into the shop, even if they weren't always a customer, namely one of her bosses' more outgoing friends; one Willam Belli.

When Jinkx first met Willam, it very nearly resulted in the police being called. Jinkx was opening the shop that day and of course she was looking forward to relaxing in the back and chatting with Sharon before the morning rush. After hurriedly turning on all the main lights, Jinkx made her way towards the break room but stopped just inside the door frame once she heard a clatter and string of very colorful swearing. The voice it belonged to was not someone she recognized so of course her first thought was that the young woman hopping around in the dark and clutching at her foot must have broken in somehow. At a glance, Jinkx had to admit that she didn't look like a typical intruder; in fact, she was dressed like she was going to a club...or rather just getting back from one aside from her missing shoes.

It took the mystery woman a few seconds to realize she was no longer alone but the second she noticed Jinkx, she snapped "Could you turn on the goddamn lights already?"

Immediately Jinkx's hand found the switch and complied to the request, wincing at how bright the room suddenly became. The injured woman suddenly came into full view and Jinkx's initial guess that she had recently been out partying didn't seem too far off. Her stylish dress clung to every inch of her, which given the short hemline, really wasn't that much. Even as she was wincing in pain, Jinkx could see that the young woman was quite beautiful. Her dirty blonde hair was slung over her shoulder in long, beachy curls and through the bangs clinging to her forehead, Jinkx could make out a clear fondness for heavy glitter and blue eye shadow.

As the still unknown woman limped her way over to the closest chair, Sharon came bursting through the door to tiredly ask, "The fuck's going on?"

Jinkx was at a loss for words but the intruder gladly answered the question in her place, "Tried to find the damned light switch and stubbed my fucking toe on that stupid fucking box you left laying out!"

With her usual deadpan expression at the display of stupidity, Sharon replied, "Well, that's your own fucking fault for walking around here barefoot."

"Who the fuck puts the switch on the other side of the fucking room?" the young dirty blonde demanded in a huff.

The two women instantly descended into a state of childish bickering, much in the same way Sharon and Violet would act, and at once it dawned on Jinkx that these two must know each other quite well. If Jinkx had learned one thing about Sharon, it was that only someone she had known for a long time could get under her skin like that and reduce her patience to absolute zero. Almost as if she read Jinkx's mind, Sharon paused in her squabbling and properly introduced the two women to each other. She explained that Willam had dragged her out to the club the previous night, then decided to sleep off what remained of the booze until about ten minutes ago. The still mildly irritated woman helpfully added in that she had come over to make coffee but as she was searching for the light switch, she ran into one of the boxes that had been left outside the door to the storage area.

While Willam continue to lament the chipped nail polish on her toes, along with a few other exaggerated injuries, Sharon took to preparing the coffee. As she listened to Willam's ranting, Jinkx found that she actually enjoyed the other girl's sense of humor, even if some might not be intentional at the moment. She listened with interest as Willam went on to describe the events of last night, including taking a few shots out of several men's foreskins. Blushing, Jinkx mumbled, "Didn't know you could do that..."

"Dick is good for a lot of things," Willam said devoutly.

Thanking whatever deities existed, the coffee was finally ready and Sharon quickly placed a mug in front of the red-head while pointedly shooting a scolding look at Willam. Without breaking eye contact with her friend, the dirty blonde gave a devilish smirk and added in, "Something to be said for pussy as well."

It hardly seemed possible at the time but Jinkx felt herself turning several shades darker and absolutely refused to look anywhere near the other women. If she had, she would have noticed Willam's shit-eating grin growing ever wider as Sharon glared at her as though murder was about to be committed. Taking the last mug she held for herself, Sharon sat very deliberately between the two women and took a deep swallow as she stared Willam down.

Annoyed, the dirty blonde whined, "What about my coffee?"

"Get it yourself," Sharon grumbled as she took another sip, strongly wishing there was a cigarette to accompany her drink but not enough to fetch it herself.

Muttering a few choice words, Willam dragged herself over to the coffee pot and filled the final mug Sharon had left out originally intended for herself. As she sat down, Willam made Sharon a peace offering of a lighter and blunt she had stored in her bra fully recognizing the other woman's need to smoke something in the morning. With something of a begrudging smile, Sharon accepted and lit up the blunt, taking a deep, relaxing inhale. The two women systematically passed it back and forth between themselves while Jinkx politely refused when it was held out to her. Breaking the silence, she took the opportunity to ask them, "Do you two go out partying a lot?"

"Used to..." Willam replied with teasing smirk, "before Sharon got old."

"Bitch, I've got a business to run," Sharon responded a bored tone, "If you want to go out clubbing every night, no one's stopping you."

"But it's not as much fun without you to harass," the dirty blonde argued. "And if there isn't anyone worth fucking at the club, there's always y-"

"Then find someone else," Sharon interrupted firmly.

Willam was almost prone to pouting until her eyes slyly shifted to the red-head across the table. Ignoring Sharon's suspicious gaze, Willam addressed the younger woman, "How about you, Jinkx? Wanna-"

"No." Sharon answered for her as she sent a very meaningful glare to her incorrigible friend.

"Sorry," Jinkx apologized sweetly, "I'm not much for partying, really. Takes a lot of argument with Ivy just to get me to go out once a month with her."

"It's alright," Willam said in an exhausted voice, "I'll find someone."

Thinking to herself for a moment, Jinkx offered up innocently, "What about Violet? She seems like she might be into that kind of thing."

"Oh, she is," Willam confirmed with a knowing smirk, "But she prefers a different crowd..."

Confused, Jinkx turned to Sharon for some further enlightenment. Shrugging offhandedly, the older woman replied, "She's more into the burlesque shows across town. The clubs Willam frequents aren't really her scene unless she's desperate."

"Oh," the red-head replied awkwardly. "So you all know each other pretty well then, I guess?"

"You could say that," Willam replied along with a crude gesture that Jinkx just barely missed as she turned her attention towards Sharon again.

Even the older woman's cheeks showed a very light pink as she struggled to suppress the urge to strangle her friend upon seeing that very expressive motion. At the moment she wasn't sure if she wanted a deep chasm to open and swallow Willam or herself more. She just thanked the heavens that Jinkx had not seen what Willam had just implied. "Yes," she said in a disturbingly calm voice, "We've know each other for a few years."

"Do you come around the shop often?" Jinkx asked curiously as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Not as often as I'd like," Willam replied honestly. "Sharon doesn't like when all three of us are together here."

Jinkx made a noise of questioning and Sharon was all too willing to provide her reasoning, "Because I can only restrain myself from killing one of them at a time."

**********************

Since their initial meeting, Willam began popping up at the shop periodically, usually in the late evening when only one of the owners was working. Even with some of her more vulgar behaviors, the two got along quite well, though Sharon was known to hover close to both of them if all three ever happened to be there together. Willam loved to push the limits with Sharon, seemingly learning from plenty of experience which buttons to press and when. With Violet, the two played off each other fluidly, comparing notes on recent hook ups and clubbing misadventures. It was hardly surprising that whenever Sharon happened to be around, she'd often end up excusing herself before she started banging her head on the wall. Jinkx could see that they had years of practice winding her up and definitely knew how to work it to their advantage.

In the beginning, Willam would only stop by every few days, sometimes for just a few minutes and other times up to an hour. However, Jinkx began to notice that recently she had been stopping in more frequently and for longer durations. It also became increasingly hard to miss that her visits usually coincided with Courtney's shifts. It was almost strange; Courtney was just as different from Willam as she had been from Violet yet the two were quickly becoming inseparable. "We get on like a house on fire," they would say.

As Jinkx later learned, Courtney seemed to have taken Sharon's place as Willam's drinking buddy and more often than not she'd see the two heading out after her shift for some form of a good time. If Jinkx hadn't known any better, she'd say they'd been friends for years. They certainly bickered at times like they had. Willam was known to tease anyone close enough to her; Jinkx found herself in that circle early on and shortly after Courtney began working there, she earned a special place as well. The main difference between Willam's teasing of the two was that with Jinkx, Willam would usually go soft; never too often and hardly anything that warranted more than eye roll. Courtney, however; often times the girl would become exasperated at Willam's outlandish behavior, shooting her dirty looks, outright glaring, and sometimes even taking a jab herself. She was very much like Sharon in that sense and perhaps that's why Willam took to her so quickly. Any attention she received from Courtney, good or bad, she basked in and she made damn sure she kept Courtney's interest.

Even with Willam's visits becoming more of a regular occurrence, there were still times in the shop where there was absolutely nothing going on. On one of these days, Jinkx decided to venture upstairs and finally take the time to clean and perhaps even reorganize the various baubles. She was making good progress too until she stumbled upon the collection of books hidden away on one of the lower shelves. At first she had only pulled them out in order to clean off the dust that had piled up behind them but more than one of the titles caught her interest and curiosity compelled her to leaf through the pages. Minutes quickly passed by as she became absorbed by what she was reading and the appearance of a hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality with a sudden jolt.

Her heart was pounding as she stared up at Violet with a rather guilty expression. To her relief the young woman only smiled and said, "We were wondering where you disappeared to..."

Turning towards the banister, Violet yelled out, "Ivy, I found her! She was up here reading!"

"Oh, god," Jinkx mumbled in embarrassment, "How long was I up here?"

"Only about half an hour," Violet replied dismissively. "We got so used to tuning out the sound of you cleaning, we didn't really notice you had stopped until about a minute ago."

"Sorry," she apologized as she placed all of the items back on the shelf, "I get distracted by books sometimes."

"Don't be," Violet reassured her. "You're the only one who's shown any interest in those things for months. I forgot we even had them."

"Oh...Is it alright if I keep reading them?" she asked hesitantly. "I won't damage them, I promise!"

"Go for it, girl. Someone ought to get some use out of them."

With her approval, Jinkx took to reading the books every chance she got. Whenever business would die down in the afternoon and all orders were completed, Jinkx would practically run upstairs to grab the next book on her reading list. Ivy had even taken to leaving a cup of coffee by her side as she cozied up by the work benches to read her pick of the day. A lot of what she had read was interesting and actually relevant to her job; she learned how to keep bouquets looking fresher for days and which flowers were most appropriate for certain events. There were even a few books discussing the subtleties of arrangements. The one Jinkx found to be her favorite was on the history of using flowers to convey messages between the sender and recipient. She was fascinated by all the intricacies that were involved in creating a bouquet with an actual meaning behind it. More often than not, that particular tome found its way into her hands until she had finally read it nearly four times, cover-to-cover.

It was quite a shock when she went to retrieve it one afternoon and discovered it was no longer among the other books. She quickly ran downstairs to check the sales receipts from earlier that morning and discovered it was in fact one of the first items bought that day. Feeling rather lost, she wandered into the break room with her coworkers to grab a cup of coffee and try to decide what book she ought to read in its place. Part of what annoyed her so much was that she still had 3 chapters left to finish before it was gone. Even though she knew the contents, the fact that she wasn't able to read it all the way to the end still bothered her.

As she poured her coffee, she was deeply considering ordering a copy for herself online when something sticking out from the hood of her hung up jacket caught her attention. Her heart beat just a little bit faster as she recognized the shape and dashed over to make sure it was real; loosely wrapped in one of the store's ribbons was the very book that had been marked as sold that morning. She hastily untangled the ribbon from around the book and flipped open the front cover to find her name carefully written on the interior. An overwhelming smile broke out across her lips as she recognized the handwriting. Turning around sharply, she ran over to where Sharon was leaning against the table staring at her phone and embraced the startled woman in a tight hug. As she was thanking her boss repeatedly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders and return the gesture.

She was still expressing her gratitude in any way she could think of when she felt Sharon tense up in her grasp. As she pulled away, she found her boss's cheeks were tinted with a noticeable pink and she was staring at the doorway to the storage room. Like a deer in head lights, Courtney was standing there with a box clenched tightly in her hands and awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. It was only when Jinkx and Sharon put some distance between themselves that Courtney seemed to regain control of her body and forced herself to nearly sprint back to the front of the shop. As she passed the other women, she mumbled, "Pardon me," and solidly refused to make eye contact with either one.

Once she was out of sight, Jinkx gave the older woman an embarrassed smile and apologized for the sudden display of affection. Still recovering from her own mortification, Sharon dismissed the gesture with a smile and wave of the hand as she told her, "Don't worry about it. Just glad you like that book so much."

Feeling herself flush, Jinkx thanked Sharon once more and returned to the front of the shop with her mug and new book in tow. Even though she could remember the exact page she had left off on, she still flipped the cover open to the very beginning and stared at her name printed in what was probably Sharon's best attempt at calligraphy. Taking the first sip of her unsweetened coffee with a satisfied smile, she began reading the introduction for the fifth time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm thinking of trying to upload a new chapter every two weeks or so. Unfortunately I'm not as far along with the writing as I would like to be but what can you do? Courtney's chapter will be the next one up and with the rough outline I have in mind for now, there's probably going to be a total of six more chapters following that; three for each POV. Katya will begin appearing the next chapter as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here is the first installment of the Witney/Courtney-centric chapters. This chapter is a bit long and I probably should have broken it up into another chapter, but oh, well. Hope you all enjoy it! The next update should occur in about 4-5 weeks, reason for that is that I've finally gotten down to working on the sequel to 'Say My Name' so I'm looking to post the first half in place of my regular update to this story and take some time to finish it up before focusing all my attention on this piece. So stay tuned!

"Maybe it's time for a change," Katya suggested in a casual voice as she sipped her soda, "This could be the sign you're looking for."

Courtney groaned as her head fell forward into her arms and collapsed against the granite island counter top in her neighbor's kitchen. She really did not want to deal with this right now; earlier today she had just received word from her upper management that the office would be relocating at the end of the month. 'Don't worry,' they assured her. She'll still have her job...she'll just need to commute 40 minutes to get there...provided that traffic isn't too heavy on the way, of course. Besides, what are the chances of traffic backing up during rush hour?

What a load of bullshit...But Courtney would never say that to them; she just grinned and told them she'd think about it over the weekend before confirming that she'll be moving along with the rest of the staff. They were very agreeable, she had to admit, they even offered a small pay increase to offset the cost of gas but still...a 40-minute minimum drive every day? Both ways? God, this day just sucks!

"I don't know what else I can do, Kat!" she exclaimed in a beaten voice. "Our rent's already skyrocketed and I don't have time to find anywhere cheaper. Where else can I find a job that pays this well on such short notice?"

"You could always move in with me," Katya said suggestively. Even before Courtney raised her head, she knew Katya was doing that stupid eyebrow wiggle that would almost always crack her up. Today however, it only did half of the job but at least it got a smile out of her.

"Hard pass," Courtney shot back firmly. "I hear enough of you across the hall as it is. Don't need to be sharing a bathroom and bedroom wall with you too."

"Can't say I don't get good reviews," she stated proudly. "And speaking of reviews; why don't you give me yours tonight?"

Suspiciously, Courtney asked, "For your show or...?"

"Both," Katya replied with a flirty wink. Courtney didn't bother to hide her less than amused expression until Katya finally cracked in her facade and broke down laughing. "Fine, just the show," she relented through her own amused chuckling.

"Alright," Courtney said with a sigh, "I've got nothing better to do. Why not drown myself in alcohol as well?"

"Great! Besides, there's someone I want you to meet..." Katya mentioned with a secretive smile.

Immediately a red flag went up in Courtney's mind as she asked warningly, "You're not trying to set me up on a blind date, are you?"

"No, this one's mine...for now..." the younger blonde reassured her yet couldn't resist the temptation to add in, "But if you like her, I'm willing to share."

"No."

"Fine, don't say I didn't offer," Katya replied with a bright, yet concerning smile. "I think you'll find her...interesting."

"Can't wait," Courtney responded with a sarcastic eye roll.

***********

As Courtney has learned from plenty of experience with Katya; you should always be wary whenever she gets mysterious. If there is ever a time when she's not gleefully telling you what she's thinking, no matter how bizarre or off topic it seems, _a_ _lways_ proceed with caution. And tonight that's exactly what Courtney was determined to do. She's known for quite awhile that Katya has been a regular performer at the local burlesque shows but she had yet to see any of her recent gigs. Katya often raved how she's changed her act up over the last few months, sometimes working with a partner and other times not, but Courtney has been leery about attending ever since a rather raunchy display she had witnessed some two years ago, courtesy of Katya dragging her there after work one day. To put it bluntly, more modesty could be seen in most porn she had watched than what had been showcased on the stage that night. Needless to say, Courtney was somewhat reluctant to experience a second round of that mentally scarring performance but the number of drinks she was planning on consuming tonight would probably be enough to block any memory from forming...so she hoped. And she was well on her way to reaching that amount by the time Katya's number had actually started.

If you asked Courtney how Katya's act had gone over, she could say with perfect honesty that the crowd loved it. She distinctly remembers the other patrons screaming their heads off and throwing tips to the stage, all while begging for more. If you asked her what Katya actually did during her performance, then you might get a vague or fudged answer. To her irritation, she spent the majority of her time trying to peek through the bobbing heads and flailing arms just to get a glimpse of what Katya was doing. If the silhouette reflected on the walls behind her were anything to judge by, then the blocked view might have been a blessing in disguise. Every so often Courtney was able to spot Katya between the gaps in the crowd and she had to admit, Katya looked absolutely stunning tonight. Her make up was flawless as far she could tell with the distance and her body was perfectly toned and showing just the right amount of skin in her tight leather outfit. It wasn't too gaudy nor too conservative and Courtney would bet anything that someone else helped her pick it out. Not to say that Katya couldn't have found it on her own but her style always tended to be more flashy and this particular outfit looked just bit out of her normal comfort zone...more subdued and mature than what Courtney remembered from the last show.

All too quickly, Katya finished her number to the roar of the crowd and Courtney was left to make her way back to the bar. Within a few minutes, the giddy blonde joined her, now changed into more comfortable every-day clothing and eager to listen to Courtney's review. Not wanting to disappoint her friend by admitting she couldn't even see most of the show aside from what the shadows implied, Courtney exclaimed repeatedly how much the crowd had gone wild when she took the stage and of course complimented her whole look tonight. Katya drank it up with a bright smile and ordered herself a bottle of water to re-hydrate after such an intense performance. As she slowly winded down, Courtney asked about the person she was supposed to be introduced to. Katya's smile grew to an alarming size as she told Courtney that the woman in question was actually the one performing at the moment and pointed towards the stage. Curiously, Courtney turned away from her friend in time to see a body wrapped around a flimsy ring become suspended into the air. An audible gasp left her as watched the young woman twisting her limbs effortlessly as though she weren't hanging several feet above the crowd and easily could come crashing to the floor with one wrong move.

Reality had a way of escaping as Courtney stood mesmerized by the performance but by the time the mystery woman descended and disappeared backstage, the ice in her glass had mostly melted and Katya's water bottle had been replaced with a soda. "She's something, huh?" Katya asked knowingly.

"I'll say," Courtney replied, thoroughly impressed by the show.

With a playful wink, Katya added in, "Should see her in bed...loves the kinky shit."

At the moment Katya made her last comment, Courtney had the misfortune to have been taking a sip of her drink and promptly began choking as the implication registered in her mind. "You and her have already...?" she asked in disbelief as she grabbed a napkin to clean up the mess she had made.

"Yep, for the past couple of weeks," Katya confirmed proudly. Doing her best to sound enticing, she proposed, "And there's still room for one more...we'll go easy on you...at first."

Courtney couldn't even bring herself to dignify the offer with a verbal response. She simply glared at Katya until she had the good grace to give a slightly shamefaced smile. Shaking her head in disbelief, Courtney asked aloud, "Why am I friends with you again?"

Katya's only reaction was to let out her trademark cackle and press a soft kiss to Courtney's cheek as a way of apology. "Save some action for me, Kat," a voice called out teasingly.

Still in the same outfit she had just finished performing in, the young and slightly out of breath entertainer joined the two blondes at the bar and flagged down one of the servers. As they waited for her drink to be mixed, Katya introduced the two women, "Court, this is Violet. Violet, this is Courtney, my neighbor from across the hall."

"Ah, so you're the one I've heard about," Violet mused as she took the first sip of her drink.

Shooting a wary look toward Katya, Courtney asked, "What have you heard exactly?"

Giving a dismissive wave of her hand, Violet replied nonchalantly, "Nothing bad, just that you're joining us tonight."

"Katya!" Courtney all but screamed at her friend. Her cheeks were a fiery red as she turned to glare the other blonde but the way she was struggling not to laugh gave Courtney reason to pause. Glancing back at Violet, she found the younger woman watching her in amusement and suddenly it clicked that they were just trying to rile her up. Rubbing her fingers along her temple, she grumbled, "This is going to be a long night, isn't it?" and ordered another much stronger drink.

**********************

Looking back, perhaps she ought to have begun ordering fewer drinks once the night had turned into the next day. Perhaps she ought to have just stopped drinking altogether after realizing she had been bitching about her job for the last half hour. And perhaps she ought to have called it a night once she found herself eyeing up both of the younger women consideringly. But the moment she knew that she was absolutely, 100%, without a doubt in too deep was when she found herself in the back seat of an Uber making out with a certain someone who may or may not have been her neighbor. Her entire body felt overheated and on edge as she frantically clutched at the other woman's clothes in a halfhearted attempt to remove them. A hand brushed hers away every time she began making process and when she finally pulled away to question it, she found a brunette eagerly awaiting to capture her lips herself. The last thing Courtney truly remembered was a hand carefully cradling her cheek as a tongue licked its way into her mouth with considerable practice.

Some time later, Courtney found herself waking up on a couch she vaguely recognized as Katya's, listening to some very vocal calls of said woman's name. If she had to guess, she'd say Violet was fully enjoying herself at the moment but hardly the same could be said for Courtney. She was very tempted to wander across the hall back to her own apartment but the instant she tried sitting up, her head began spinning and throbbing to the point where it was not worth the effort. Falling back onto the couch, she wrapped herself in a blanket Katya must have draped over her and buried her head beneath the throw pillow in a futile attempt to block out the noises drifting from the bedroom. By the time she fell asleep, Courtney felt confident she could probably give a more accurate description of what Katya had been doing to Violet than what had gone on during her performance. If she had to choose two words to describe Violet after just meeting her tonight, they would undoubtedly be 'loud' and 'explicit'.

When Courtney awoke the second time, she found herself feeling decidedly worse and even the smell of food did nothing to improve her mood. Katya could be heard singing/screaming off key somewhere behind her as she clanged around in the kitchen. Grumbling to herself, Courtney rolled off the couch and groggily made her way to the island countertop. Seating herself parallel to Violet, who seemed to be borrowing some of Katya's garish clothing for the time being, she slumped over the counter and held her hands out imploringly for coffee. Sliding her own mug across the empty space into the awaiting grasp, Violet greeted her with a taunting, "Morning, sunshine. Sleep well?"

Glaring at her as she took a deep swig, Courtney swallowed the much needed caffeine and asked reluctantly, "What happened last night?"

Without missing a beat, Katya brightly asked as she prepared their breakfast, "Before or after you passed out on the couch?"

"Before," Courtney replied in a no-nonsense tone, "I heard quite enough this morning to piece together what happened after."

Taking pity on the hungover blonde, Violet gave her a very brief and very censored version of the previous night's events following their introduction to one another. Evidently, Courtney had drank far more than she had originally planned and some time after she met Violet, it began to take its effect. Aside from her alcohol-induced ranting about the recent ultimatum with her job, apparently Courtney also had hit on the very openly gay bartender (who promptly confiscated her keys) and nearly got into a fight after someone had spilled their drink on her shoes. The two women ushered her out of the club before anything became physical and no sooner had they entered the Uber driver's car than Courtney decided then would be the best time to force her tongue down Katya's throat.

Although Katya was snickering in the background at this part, Courtney had never felt more ashamed and was instantly apologizing for her actions to both women. Each brushed it off and began eating the meal that Katya had finished placing in front of them; a slightly burnt, semi-circular mystery food that ended up looking more like thick crepes than the fluffy pancakes they were probably intended to be. They tasted much better than they looked to each of the women's secret relief...especially after you cut off the blackened edges. Downing more of the coffee, Courtney asked what happened after they arrived back at the apartment complex.

"Well, Violet and I were going to put you to bed but it seems your apartment key was also on the same ring as your car keys- you'll need to stop back at the club later to pick those up by the way...So we brought you back to my place and got you settled in on the couch...We didn't think you'd want to wake up in my bed to find Vi bent over with a-"

"No! Thanks!" Courtney interrupted with wide eyes, "Don't need to hear any more about that, trust me. Heard plenty already."

"You were right, Kat..." Violet interjected with a teasing smile, "She is cute when she gets flustered."

Narrowing her eyes at both women, Courtney drained the final remnants within the mug and muttered, "I hate you both."

Leaning forward to pry the cup from the older blonde's resisting hands, Violet asked casually, "So what job is horrible enough that it drove you to drink as much as you did?"

While Violet poured a second mugful, Courtney groaned softly and replied, "It's not the work itself that's the problem; it's the fact that starting next month, I'm now going to have to drive probably an hour both ways every day to get to it! If I enjoyed the position more maybe it'd be a different story but...I'm just not happy there. I miss my old job, to be honest."

Pushing the steaming cup back in front of the Aussie, Violet proposed simply, "Then why not go back to it?"

"The pay wasn't as good..." Courtney admitted as she took a shallow sip, "And it was barely more than part time...I was working at a clothing boutique as well to cover the missing hours."

"Mm...if you don't mind me asking, where was the job at?" Violet asked curiously.

"The flower shop on 34th," Courtney stated with a hint of longing in her voice, "'Marcie's Marvelous Arrangements'. You know, the one right across from cafe?"

Nodding, Violet answered calmly, "Uh-huh, I'm very familiar with that place...They're one of my biggest competitors...One of my previous assistants left to go work there a few months ago..."

"Oh! Sorry," Courtney apologized as her cheeks filled with pink.

"Don't be. Her choice, not yours..." Violet told her kindly. "But, you know...if you're interested...I do have a full-time position for a florist that needs filled...and I can guarantee we'll pay you better than at Marcie's."

"Really?" Courtney exclaimed gleefully. Suddenly her hangover seemed much more manageable than it had five minutes ago.

"Uh-huh," Violet drew out with a lazy smile as she side-eyed the other blonde, "It's funny...I could have sworn that just the other day I was telling Katya what a difficult time I was having finding another florist."

Not even daring to make eye contact with the other women, the grinning blonde choked back a laugh and replied in a strained voice, "Did you? Don't remember. Maybe that collar was tighter than I thought last night."

"Mh-mm," Violet said with a knowing tone as she leant with her hand on her cheek, "Must have been...Hard to imagine you pulling off a stunt like this without blurting it out midway through. Isn't it nice when things work out, though?"

**************

Some time after breakfast, Courtney showered and changed into some of Katya's less flamboyant clothes before taking an Uber with Violet back to the club to pick up her keys and car. While she was there, she apologized repeatedly to the bartender (after Violet pointed out which one it was) for her behavior the previous night. He accepted with a gracious smile and informed her that she wasn't the first and probably wouldn't be the last any time soon. She left feeling a good deal less shameful than when she had arrived and drove Violet back to her own apartment. As she dropped her off, Violet asked her to come by the flower shop tomorrow afternoon to sign the paperwork for her job offer. She was very adamant that it be in the mid-afternoon as it would be less busy and of course, her business partner would also be there to meet her. Courtney admitted that she was rather excited to meet her future boss but the way Violet had snickered at that statement gave her cause for alarm...and as it turned out; that feeling was quite an understatement.

If she had any idea what Sharon would be like upon meeting her, she would have been far less optimistic as she walked into the shop for the first time. The older woman seemed friendly enough at first; she greeted her with a welcoming smile and asked how she could help her but before Courtney was able to get a single word out, Violet swept in beside her and announced sweetly that Courtney was about to become their newest florist.

"What?" Sharon asked venomously as a scowl worked its way across her lips.

Unaffected, Violet reiterated in a defiant tone, "You said we needed a third assistant so I went and found one."

Courtney could hear the shop's door opening behind her but the majority of her attention was on the sudden realization that this was all news to Sharon. The resentful look on her face deepened as she replied sarcastically, "And let me guess, this one's name is Daisy or Lily or some shit?"

Violet's lips curled into a smirk as she replied coolly, "Nope...it's Courtney."

"Right...And what's her last name then?" Sharon scoffed as though she were waiting for unwanted punchline from the younger woman.

"'Act'," Courtney supplied with a friendly smile. Sharon's eyebrow arched at her voice, seemingly caught off guard by the accent. Not that this was an unusual occurrence but the icy glare that seemed to be boring deep into her soul was a little more than unsettling at the moment. She almost wanted to crawl into a pit and die as Sharon stared at her like she was some insignificant insect unworthy of her time. Her gaze barely left Courtney's as she traded cutting remarks with Violet, who simply deflected every possible argument she could have had with considerable ease. She clearly had years of experience butting heads with Sharon and now she was an expert in providing rational counter-statements in the most annoying way she could manage.

Courtney stood awkwardly at the counter as she tried not to fidget with the sleeves of her sweater; she was unused to being argued over as though she weren't even there. Even when she chanced a glance towards the shop's work area, she found that the only other shop assistant was looking quite uncomfortable as well. It seemed as though she were debating if she should leave the room or not. When Sharon finally began to address her personally, Courtney did her best to remain polite and friendly. Her answers were honest regarding her past experience at 'Marcie's' but Sharon was not the type to be easily impressed, even though Violet pointed out that their other assistants came in with no experience whatsoever and they had worked out well. That particular comment earned a powerful glare from the older blonde.

Finally after what felt like hours of debate and interrogation, Sharon relented with a very long-suffering sigh and proceeded to print off the paperwork. With the older woman's guidance, Courtney rushed through adding in her signatures and initials until they came to the section discussing her salary. Violet filled in the field herself and Courtney would later swear to Katya that she had never seen anyone look as pissed off as Sharon did once she saw what Violet had written.

"That's more than what the other girls were hired at!" Sharon remarked in a fierce whisper.

"She's worth it!" Violet argued firmly. "Trust me. You have for everything else!"

Upon hearing that final declaration, Sharon held her tongue until the forms were filled out in their entirety and she quickly paper-clipped them together to be filed that night. Courtney was glad that Violet seemed as eager to leave the shop as she was following that exchange but the smirk she sent back to her partner as they left had definitely crossed a line. Courtney could tell that Sharon was fuming before the door had even hit the frame. As the pair walked towards their cars, Violet pulled her aside and told her, "She'll get over it, I promise. Her attitude in there has nothing to do with you or me, she's just...going through some shit right now."

"And you're giving her an outlet?" Courtney asked wisely.

With a secret smile, the brunette confirmed, "If she takes it."

"You're a good friend," Courtney commented sincerely.

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone," Violet said with a playful wink, "I have a reputation to protect."

******************

It had been just over three weeks since she began working there and Courtney was already feeling at home. Aside from Sharon, she was welcomed into the fold with open arms and got along quite well with the other women. Ivy and Jinkx especially had taken to showing her how the shop ran, which was a good deal more relaxed than at 'Marcie's'. Granted there was always an underlying air of professionalism but Courtney loved the fact that her coworkers genuinely got along, if you discount Sharon and Violet's near daily arguments that is. Previously, she would only see her coworkers as mere work relationships; she never really considered them her friends, especially not the ones from the office who often were much older than her. But working at 'Pines and Needles' made her rethink the possibility entirely. More than once she found herself wanting to go out with the girls to brunch or something but the closest she came in those first few weeks were the times when Violet would make an appearance in Katya's apartment...or perhaps 'when Violet could be heard from Katya's apartment' would be more accurate.

As she worked on gathering up her courage to invite at least one of them out for a social call, the shop became slammed with a new wave of customers. There hardly seemed time in the day to talk about anything other than orders, much less if someone would like to grab a drink with her after work. Finally the rush began to die down in the late afternoon and the girls were able to resume their normal duties. Ivy was helping Violet tidy up in the front and Courtney was left to bring in the new packages that had been dropped off in the back of the building. Usually the deliveries were scheduled to arrive in the early morning so as to keep the flowers fresh and avoid the confusion of coordinating the restocking with the orders to be filled but today the wrong vases had arrived with the shipment so Violet sent them back to be corrected. It was an easy enough switch to make and there was no shortage of vases in the meantime, the only unfortunate part of the scenario was that the replacements arrived during the tail end of the lunch rush. There was hardly any time for Violet to even check that this shipment was accurate before she had to dash off and help with the next customer. The boxes were left sitting in the delivery area for most of the afternoon until a break in the onslaught finally gave Courtney a chance to bring them in.

She was used to heavy lifting, thanks to both 'Marcie's' and her own habit of going to the gym, but the sheer size of some of the boxes was a bit daunting for someone to carry in on their own. Taking a deep sigh, she got to work on the smallest boxes first and quickly made noticeable dent in the number. Twenty minutes later, all that was left were eight or so of the largest boxes she had saved for last in the hopes someone might come and help her. But as she took a brief glance to the front of the shop, she could see that both Violet and Ivy were assisting customers. Oh, well. Help certainly was not on its way anytime soon so she might as well get this over with. Thankfully the boxes weren't too heavy but carrying them was a bit awkward for someone of her size. She could barely see over the top and mostly had to rely on her own memory of the shop's layout to navigate her way safely through the storage area.

The first box made the task seem easy enough but by the time she began working on the third, her muscles were screaming at her to take a break. Part of her problem had been slowing down and allowing her body time to realize just how tired it truly was. Her fingers were aching, her feet were sore, and her back was quickly developing a sharp pain. At least she was almost finished...

Still moving at a tentative pace, Courtney proceed up the steps from the delivery area into the break room. She was just starting to turn towards the storage area when the box she was carrying became noticeably lighter. A pair of well manicured hands joined hers in balancing the load and guided her effortlessly towards storage room. As she heard the heels clicking against the tiles, Courtney felt confident that it was Violet that had come back to help. Only rarely did Ivy ever wear anything other than flats while working. Craning her neck over the top of the box, Courtney was shocked to see a swath of blonde hair instead of brunette. Was Sharon actually helping her? And why did she come back to the shop? Her shift ended hours ago and she promptly disappeared into her apartment without another word.

A multitude of questions raced through her mind but as soon as the box was on the ground, only one remained, "Who are you?"

Arching an eyebrow at the inquiry, the mystery blonde said flatly, "That's how you thank someone for helping you?"

"What?" Courtney asked confusedly, before remembering her manners, "Oh, right, right. Thanks...but _who_ are you?"

"Willam," the young woman replied simply as she started to exit the room.

Following after her, Courtney asked cautiously, "You...don't work here, do you?"

"Nope."

"Then why are you...?"

"Violet asked me to come check on you when I came in," Willam said offhandedly as she stopped at the fridge for a bottle of water. "Said you've been back here awhile. Guess she wanted to make sure you didn't get your tiny little self killed moving those boxes."

Feeling a her lips curl downward, Courtney replied defensively, "I'd say I managed quite well on my own, thank you."

Taking note of the change in tone, Willam told her mildly, "Don't take it personally, princess. It's just an observation."

Courtney's eye twitched at the unwanted nickname, something Willam certainly did not miss as she studied the other blonde. Trying her best not to let this young woman annoy her any further, Courtney replied bluntly, "Well, you can tell her I'm almost done; there's only a few boxes left."

She was starting to march outside to bring in said boxes but the way Willam stared at her as she made her way to the door made her stop in her tracks. Somewhat irritated, Courtney snapped tiredly, "What?"

Ignoring the tone, Willam asked, "Aren't you going to ask for help?"

"Why? I did the rest by myself," Courtney responded as her arms crossed involuntarily.

Setting her water bottle on the counter, Willam stated in a candid voice, "Because you didn't have a choice...Now there's someone else here and you're not going to utilize that? Look, princess,-"

"Stop calling me that," Courtney interjected.

"-It doesn't make a difference to me one way or another if you're set on carrying all those boxes by yourself. But I'll tell you this now; there's _nothing_ wrong with asking for help, especially if you need it. You don't have to do this all on your own and no one here expects you to. They all help each other and if you're smart, you'll accept it. Now...what do you say?"

Running her hand sheepishly along her upper arm, Courtney had to admit she was right. She wasn't sure why she felt so defensive about finishing the task alone. Maybe just to prove to herself that she could...Taking a thick swallow, the older blonde asked softly, "Can you help me with the last of the boxes...please?"

"That's better," Willam stated as she ushered Courtney outside. With the two of them working together, they managed to carry in the remaining boxes in a mere five minutes. Now that she finally had a chance to rest, Courtney collapsed into a chair and tried to will her feet to stop throbbing.

Sitting down beside the Aussie with a smug look, Willam placed a cold bottle of water in front of her and taunted lightly, "See? You don't always have to do it the hard way, right, princess?"

Side-eyeing the dirty blonde for a moment, she accepted the bottle and tiredly told her, "Please stop calling me that...and thank you."

"Any time... _princess_ ," Willam replied with a smirk.

Courtney rolled her eyes yet couldn't stop a smile from working its way across her lips. After being friends with someone like Katya for so long, Courtney learned to recognize when to just accept playful teasing as an unchanging form of communication. Though she wasn't entirely fond of the nickname, it was starting to grow on her the more Willam said it. While relaxing for a few minutes that she had definitely earned, Courtney made polite inquiries with Willam. She learned that the young blonde was friends with both of the owners and made occasional visits to the shop. Tonight, in fact, she was going out clubbing with Sharon. This lead to a passionate discussion between the two of their favorite hot spots to visit. Courtney was surprised to learn that there was quite a bit of overlap in the clubs each frequented and even some of the employees both knew at the venues.

As they were exchanging contact information to meet up at some point, Sharon entered the break room from the shared door to her apartment. The sight of the two getting along so well caused her eyebrow to arch. As she stood beside them, she addressed Willam, "I see you've met our new...assistant." The final word seemed to be struggle for her to say without sounding sarcastic.

"Mh-mm..." Willam replied with a lazy smile, "She's cool."

"Really? Mm."

To Courtney's astonishment, Sharon actually seemed intrigued by the statement. She gave the younger blonde a considering once-over and almost instantly Courtney could tell that Sharon's opinion of her had risen. Mentally thanking Willam for whatever influence she might have had over her friend, she gave Sharon a shy smile and announced she ought to be returning back to her shift soon. Nodding her head approvingly, Sharon turned to ask Willam, "Ready to head out?"

"Yeah, my car's down the street. Let's go before I get another ticket."

As they left through the back door to the delivery area, Sharon called over her shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow, Courtney."

Her smile became the brightest it had ever been while working in the shop as she called out a quick goodbye to both of the women. Even though it was small; it was still progress and Courtney would gladly take anything she could get from Sharon...and she even made a new friend to boot. Things were really starting to come together for her.

***************

Over the coming days Sharon's attitude towards both her and Violet had significantly improved to the point where she no longer seemed to resent Courtney's presence in the shop. She still argued with Violet from time to time but it was more like friendly squabbling than anything. Courtney learned from Willam that the two had always done this for as long as they have known each other and it never really amounted to anything serious. Although Violet did have a special talent for knowing which topics would annoy Sharon the most and often used that to her advantage. There were times when Willam would visit the shop while both of them were working and they seemed to have developed a game as to who could make Sharon leave first. Courtney often found herself watching these moments with great interest and even begun keeping a mental score.

Of all the people she had met through this job, Willam was the one that fascinated Courtney the most. She was flamboyant and mouthy, down to earth yet still so untouchable until she deemed you worthy. Slowly but surely, the two were spending more and more time together and not just at the shop. In the beginning, the two would simply meet up at the club and it was there that Courtney got to experience the power Willam held over others first hand. Something about her made people pay attention to her, whether she was acting as the life of the party or just relaxing with Courtney in the booths. No one seemed to be immune to her boisterous charm once it was directed at them.

Willam was even somewhat well known at a few venues but every time she entered it was like they were all seeing her for the first time. Courtney herself was no stranger to being the center of attention and at times she had even competed a little for it but with Willam, something made her stand back with the rest of the crowd and watch her work her magic. Drinks seemed to flow endlessly for her and not just because she had a way with the bartenders. Admittedly, Courtney was a bit jealous at first, often times it'd be up to an hour before she was offered a drink from some random stranger but Willam usually found one within the first ten minutes she appeared at the bar.

And more often than not she'd repay the gesture in such a way that it left the men craving for more. One of the first nights they had gone out, Courtney was shocked to find that in the few seconds she had turned away to pick up their drinks; Willam had already been handed one and was promptly drinking it out of a stranger's mouth. Granted it was only a single shot so there wasn't much to drink, but the lip lock that resulted from it left the man speechless as they broke apart. He was wide-eyed and slack-jawed as she flounced away from him, sending a flirty wink back in his direction as she pulled Courtney with her towards the crowd.

Their nights out in the club often followed the same basic procedure; arrive early, drink and dance, break apart if they found someone who piqued their interest and then if everything went right, they'd following the other person home before the morning light broke. It was all a very predictable routine and one that Courtney had little interest in deviating from at this time. But about two months after their club-hopping became a regular thing, one of them broke that pattern.

It started out as a typical night; Courtney and Willam both drank until they had a good buzz going and then promptly disappeared onto the dance floor. They remained side by side for some time until Courtney turned her attention to a slightly scruffy gym rat that had caught her eye. The pair were dancing fluidly together but as Courtney worked up the courage to ask if he wanted to leave with her, his sight drifted to another man and instantly Courtney could see the change in his expression. His gaze became more attentive as he excused himself to go dance with the newfound eye-candy. Courtney wasn't particularly bothered by the development, just slightly annoyed that she might be leaving alone tonight as no one else had really seemed like a viable option to her.

She remained on the dance floor until the end of the song then slowly worked her way through the sea of grinding bodies towards the restrooms. While in the stall, she heard the bathroom door being roughly pushed open, followed by the sharp clicking of two pairs of heels. A brief moan echoed before being quickly cut off by what Courtney could only assume was another person's mouth. Finishing up, Courtney kept her head low as she walked past the pair of women making out against the parallel wall and made quick work of washing her hands at the sink. As she dried her hands, she chanced a glance into the mirror and found that the women still had yet to move any further from the door than when they first arrived. They were frantically feeling each other up, one of them already slipping a hand beneath the other's tiny dress while the other moaned eagerly into her mouth. Her cheeks were burning at the unashamed display but as she turned around and got a better look at the pair of blondes groping each other, she was startled to find that she had recognized one of the girl's outfits.

"Willam?!?" she called out in astonishment.

Almost instantly the pair broke apart and Willam's hand retreated from beneath the other girl's hemline. For a split second as she turned around, Courtney swore she saw a look of guilt over the dirty blonde's face but she quickly fixed as much of neutral expression as she could manage as she stared at her shocked friend. Courtney could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to gather her thoughts. There was a twinge of some foreign feeling in the pit of her stomach but right now she didn't have the brain power to try and figure out what it meant. The pair stared at each other in silence until Willam's anonymous partner slipped from behind her and promptly left the room. All at once Courtney seemed to regain the ability to speak but the best she could work up was a series of simple words like, "How-What-?"

Before she could attempt to create a more coherent sentence, Willam grabbed her hand and pulled her out from the bathroom. Courtney gave up trying to speak until they were in Willam's car with the radio playing softly to fill the dead air. Although they weren't driving, Willam's hands were clutched around the steering wheel in a near death-grip. Courtney couldn't help but to notice that Willam seemed almost afraid of what her reaction would be now that they were truly alone. This was the closest Willam had ever come to showing weakness around her thus far. Taking a deep breath, Courtney asked, "You and...her...was that serious?"

Willam gave her a confused, in-what-way sort of look and immediately Courtney back-tracked to try again, "I mean, were you attracted to her...like-"

"Yeah, I was," Willam said briskly as she focused her gaze on her shaking hands.

"Oh," Courtney replied lamely. Try as she might, she couldn't come up with a better response. She wish she knew what to say to make it right but everything she thought of seemed clumsy and awkward.

There was a small moment of silence before Willam gave a heavy sigh and turned to ask, "Look, I like men and I like women...Is that a problem?"

"No, no! Not at all-" Courtney began quickly.

"Good," Willam said in a slightly relieved but still defensive tone. "Cause if it is; you are definitely working in the wrong shop."

Distracted, Courtney continued on, "I mean, I kind of like women, too? Not that I've really done much with them...but I'm open to it...If I like them that is. Wait..." Courtney paused as her mind caught up to what Willam had said, "What do mean 'wrong shop'?"

The two stared at each for what felt like minutes; Courtney in innocent confusion and Willam in a stunned disbelief. Finally, Willam broke the silence as she realized Courtney genuinely didn't have a clue as what she was referring to. "Oh my god," she exclaimed softly. "You are unbelievable. You have no sense of gay-dar, do you?"

"I know about Violet!" she said defensively as her cheeks tinted a light pink.

"She's not the only one, you know."

"Who else?" Courtney asked, very much taken aback at the knowledge.

"Pretty much everyone that's ever worked there! The shop's not located in the center of the gayborhood for no reason!"

"What?" Courtney all but shouted at the revelation. "No way."

Rubbing her hand over her temple, Willam gave the older blonde a pitying look and asked, "Look, you're off on Wednesdays, right?"

As Courtney nodded, Willam told her, "Come by my apartment tomorrow around four and we'll head over to the shop. I want to show you something...We can go to dinner afterwards."

Courtney looked uncertain but agreed to meet her friend as she planned. A great deal of her was curious about what Willam had said and wanted to find out more. It honestly had never occurred to her to question what her coworkers' sexualities might be. Not that she assumed anything but it wasn't really a topic she gave much thought to prior to Willam's statement. Now she was genuinely wondering though...

The next day Courtney spent more time than she cared to admit getting herself ready to meet up with Willam. On her days off she usually made it a point to put in as little effort as needed and just relax in her own skin but today she at least wanted to look somewhat cute. Not because of Willam, of course...although Courtney was sure that she wouldn't be leaving her apartment looking anything less than her best...No, her coworkers would be there, she told herself. She didn't want them to see her in her baggy, lazy day clothes with no make up...Although she had see Sharon in her flimsy night clothes already and of course she'd seen Violet in various states of undress- No! That's enough of that. Courtney decided she will be keeping her thoughts far away from those memories, thank you very much. Although she hadn't heard them lately (small victories), she's still seen enough skin from both her and Katya to last a lifetime.

Upon arriving at Willam's apartment, she was less than surprised to find the other woman dressed as though she were heading out for another night on the town. Her long, dirty blonde hair was hanging loosely in her trademark beachy curls and her makeup was blended perfectly to look messy yet still put together, a technique she's spent years perfecting. To top it all off, she was wearing her typical stylish heels, a vaguely shiny top (probably to compensate for the lack of the usual glitter around her eyes) and a skirt so light and thin that even a gentle breeze could raise it up past her thighs. Though Courtney wanted to remain casual and comfy, she couldn't help but to feel quite under-dressed in her own outfit; a flouncy white skirt, pink halter top, chunky heels and just enough makeup to hide any blemishes. Next to Willam, she looked rather plain and boring to her mind but there's not much to be done about it now.

They drove together in relative silence and parked just up the street as a midway point between the shop and the cafe they'd be visiting afterwards. At Courtney's urging, the parking meter was paid for the next few hours unlike Willam's usual gamble of taking the spot and hoping a meter maid wouldn't be walking by any time soon. That was just one of Willam's habits that bugged Courtney ever so slightly; she never understood why Willam would even chance a ticket worth a minimum of $30 instead of just tossing in a few quarters for a couple of hours. Better safe than sorry to her mind but its not her call to make. At least this time, Willam listened and actually paid the meter for once.

The shop wasn't too busy at this time of day and they easily snuck in without being noticed by the other girls, aside from Violet at the front counter. She waved at them carelessly and returned back to chatting on the phone as she flipped through her order sheets. 'Probably negotiating with another supplier,' Courtney thought. It was hard sometimes to find reasonable prices as Courtney had learned but she always thought Violet did a wonderful job working her magic over the phone. And she was kind of looking forward to seeing what new stock would arrive in the next few days...

Willam led her with an air of determination up the steps to second level and brought her over towards the edge of the banister. Leaning against the railing, Willam reaffirmed, "So you said you knew about Violet already, right?"

"Yeah...she's dating my neighbor. Well, they're sleeping together...at least...they were for awhile," Courtney said in an unsure tone. Now that she thought about, she wasn't entirely positive what kind of relationship those two had. Violet certainly was coming over to Katya's on a regular basis but it was hard to say if they were anything else going on with them anymore...she'd have to ask about that later.

Unconcerned with the details, Willam stated, "Good, don't have to explain that at least...Now, take a look down at the work stations..."

Standing next to Willam, she focused her sight down into the alcove and found the other two florists enjoying the quiet reprieve between rushes. "Jinkx and Ivy? What about them?"

"Just watch for minute, princess," the dirty blonde assured her.

Slightly miffed with the return of the nickname, Courtney did as directed and studied the two women as best as she could. Jinkx was reading as per usual ever since she found a hidden collection of books about two weeks ago and Ivy was sitting next to her, tapping away at her touch screen. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary but Willam wouldn't have pointed it out if there wasn't something she wanted Courtney to see. Focusing her attention even more, she found that the two women were in fact quite close to each other...enough that their shoulders would brush occasionally. It was a bit odd to her that neither of the women thought to move apart just a little bit further to prevent that from happening but that sort of thing didn't bother everyone so to each her own she guessed. After a few minutes, Ivy gave a little yawn and slouched her way into leaning heavily against Jinkx's side. Though the redhead didn't make a comment on it as far Courtney could tell, it was plain to see her lips curled ever so slightly as her friend used her as a makeshift pillow while she scrolled through her phone. The two shared a brief glance towards each other after a few seconds and almost instantly a smile broke out across their faces. With Jinkx's silent approval, Ivy nestled further into her side until she was comfortably resting her against the other's shoulder with a content look on her face.

Courtney gasped as her mind finally began connecting the dots and she turned to Willam with a shocked expression. "Are they both...?" she asked, unable to finish her sentence.

Shrugging, Willam replied, "Not sure about Ivy, to be honest. She's the only one I haven't figured out yet but Jinkx definitely has an interest in women...Ivy, especially...But whatever Ivy's orientation is, the feeling isn't mutual."

"Oh," Courtney mumbled with a hint of sadness. "I feel kind of bad for Jinkx..."

"Don't be..." Willam said in her confident, yet blunt manner, "They're better off as friends. Jinkx'll realize that soon enough."

Curiously, Courtney asked, "How do you know?"

Before Willam could answer, a voice from below the balcony caught their attention. "Hey," Sharon called out to Courtney, "Isn't it your day off?"

"Yeah," she replied sheepishly as she stared down at her boss.

With an amused expression, Sharon arched her eyebrow and asked, "So what are you two doing up there then?"

"Teaching Courtney about the facts of life," Willam stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Right..." Sharon drew out with a disbelieving nod of her head. Very quickly she determined that whatever they were up to, she wanted no part of. Letting her eyes drift down the dirty blonde's outfit, she smirked at the view and told the young woman, "Love the lace by the way."

While Courtney's hand immediately shot down to hold her skirt firmly against her thighs, Willam shamelessly spread her legs apart just a little bit wider as she leant against the railing to ask knowingly, "Your favorite pair, weren't they?"

"They were," Sharon agreed with a reminiscent glint in her eyes. "You always did look good in cerulean."

"But you're more into red now, huh?" Willam taunted with a smirk.

Sharon seemed taken aback by the question but quickly retaliated with, "And pink's your new favorite, isn't it?"

At once Willam's expression shifted dramatically from teasing to stunned to as close to embarrassed as Courtney ever saw her. She wasn't sure what the two women were talking about but she was certain Sharon had won that round hands down. Almost to prove her point, Willam ushered Courtney out of the shop, much like a dog with its tail between its legs, and refused to make further eye contact with anyone else as they left. The last Courtney saw of the older blonde was the look she and Violet shared of smug satisfaction, although what Violet was so proud of as she watched the exchange, Courtney could only guess.

It was about fifteen minutes into their meal before Courtney dared to broach the topic she was dying to talk about, "So...you and Sharon?"

"Uh huh," Willam confirmed in a huff. She clearly didn't like losing face in front of anyone and was still annoyed by the recent events in the shop.

"Are you two still...?"

"No." Willam answered quickly. "Haven't for a few months now...It was casual, never meant anything."

"Ah," Courtney said understandingly. The situation sounds similar to Katya and Violet's.

Elaborating further, Willam added in, "She found someone she's actually into so we just decided to make a clean break of it."

"Oh!" Courtney exclaimed in interest, "Are they dating?"

"No..." Willam trailed off as though in thought, "It's a little bit of a...tricky situation."

Courtney was pondering if she should keep asking questions about her boss' personal life without her knowledge when Willam decided to dangle the information in front of her enticingly. "Do you wanna know who it is?" she asked with a playful smirk. The older blonde was nodding her head vigorously until Willam shot down her hopes with a simple, "Then go find out..."

At once, Courtney's face dropped and she sent a halfhearted glare to Willam for teasing her. To her surprise Willam encouraged her with, "Seriously, go find out! It shouldn't be that hard if you pay attention. Just watch her for a little bit and once you know what to look for; it's really obvious."

"Alright," Courtney agreed reluctantly. She'd humor Willam and at least try but she had serious doubts she would be able to figure out who Sharon was interested in. At least Willam seemed to have some faith in her to put the pieces together.

***********************  
For the next week or so Courtney made sure to pay special attention to Sharon's interactions with everyone that came into the shop, whether they were a customer or business relation. By the fourth day, she feared she wasn't being as subtle about it as she had hoped. Sharon had begun giving her weird looks almost every time she glanced over and more than once she even asked the younger blonde, "What?" in increasingly suspicious tones. And Willam was certainly no help. Every time Courtney tried to weasel the information out of her, the dirty blonde just distracted her either with a quip or a taunt or just flat out laughed at her. She was very close to giving up but for every exasperated sigh, Willam just gave her some more prodding and suddenly she found herself watching Sharon again. This routine repeated itself on an almost daily basis until Courtney finally found the answer she was looking for.

One day as she was working the morning shift, she noticed Sharon at the register scanning the bar code on the back of the book. It seemed odd to her at first, as there were no customers at the time, but she brushed it aside and returned to working on the order sheet for that day. Shortly after, Sharon stepped into the alcove to cut off a strip of ribbon and promptly disappeared into the break area with both items for a good five minutes. When she returned, she was empty handed and Courtney figured she must have taken them next door to her apartment for some reason. She didn't have a chance to give the situation much more thought before the usual morning rush swept into the building and quickly occupied everyone's attention. Jinkx arrived to begin her shift as the crowd died down and between them, they were able to restock the shop's floor just in time for the second wave to hit. For the next few hours, the three women were dashing back and forth to assist customers and grab a few bites of their lunch. When it all finally died down, they were absolutely beat. Courtney's own shift would be ending once Ivy arrived so she offered to restock the work station for them as Jinkx took a much needed break.

Noticing the colored cellophane was running low, Courtney decided to bring in a few rolls from the storage room just in case they happen to run out during the night shift. As she was balancing the box in her hands, she stumbled upon a scene she never thought she'd witness. Jinkx had her arms wrapped tightly around Sharon's midsection with the most joyful smile Courtney had ever seen from her and Sharon was actually allowing it! She even had a content smile of her own as she returned the embrace and toyed with a lock of her employee's hair. It almost seemed entirely unreal until Courtney noticed what Jinkx was clutching in her hand; the same book and ribbon she had seen Sharon with earlier!

The longer she stood in the doorway, the more Courtney could feel the blood rising to her face. She was having an intense internal debate of whether or not she should hide in the storage room for a few minutes or continue past them like nothing was unusual until fate decided to make the decision for her. Before she could mentally prepare herself, Sharon caught her staring and almost instantly a noticeable blush graced her cheeks. The pair soon broke apart and Courtney rushed past them with her eyes glued to the ground as she mumbled an embarrassed, "Pardon me."

For the rest of her shift, she couldn't bring herself to look directly at either woman as she tried to process all that she had discovered. It was a huge relief when Ivy arrived early to take Courtney's place and like a shot, Courtney sped over to Willam's apartment. Calling the dirty blonde as she entered the elevator, she confirmed, "You're at home, right?"

"Yeah," the distracted voice answered, "Just painting my toenails. Got tired of looking at the old polish on them. Why?"

"Open your door," Courtney replied as she stood impatiently outside of the apartment.

In less than 20 seconds, the door was pulled open and Courtney was met by a vaguely confused look. The expression only deepened as Courtney blurted out, "It's Jinkx!"

There was a slight pause as the younger woman's mind caught up with what Courtney was referring to but once she did, her eyes rolled as she muttered, "Took you long enough."

As soon as Willam moved aside to let her in, Courtney threw herself down on the couch and excitedly began narrating the scene she had walked in on. Willam listened with an amused smile as she returned to painting her nails while Courtney enthusiastically recollected all of the other instances she had overlooked prior to this revelation. Over the coming weeks, Courtney made it a habit to stop by Willam's apartment after work and keep her up to date on the latest gossip regarding those two. Willam wasn't particularly interested herself but she never interrupted Courtney as she gushed over the little shared moments she occasionally found herself walking in on. The most recent development was Sharon's encouragement of Jinkx's newest passion; creating arrangements based on the special meaning assigned to certain flowers. There was something in the quiet and comforting way that Sharon showed her support for Jinkx's interest that Courtney found to be utterly adorable. But even as infatuated with their relationship as she was, a part of her was frustrated that neither woman was inclined to pursue it further. She was voicing this opinion to Willam and even begun hinting that they ought to take a hand in the situation but Willam immediately shot the idea down with a firm denial.

"But they'd be so cute together! Why can't we help that along?" Courtney argued as she curled her legs onto the couch with a glass of wine in her hand.

"Leave it alone, Courtney." Willam stated with an unyielding, no-nonsense tone. "They need to work things out for themselves. Nothing good'll happen if you try to push them before they're ready."

As tempted as she was to try and pout to get her way, this unusually serious manner from Willam gave her a moment's pause. In the few months they had known each other, Courtney came to realize that once Willam's mind was made up, precious little could be done to change it and being that this would involve one of her closest friends? Well, Hell was more likely to freeze over than for Willam to willingly play a role in getting the two women together. With a very reluctant huff, Courtney relented, "Fine. I won't get involved in their relationship."

"Thank you," Willam replied sarcastically as she pulled back the tab on her beer can.

Though Courtney hated to admit it, she knew this topic was settled and she would have to keep her promise. She had so many ideas for how encourage the pair to admit their feelings but if Willam caught even a whiff of a plan; she would certain go off on Courtney without hesitation. Despite her teasing of the older blonde, Willam was quite protective of Sharon, as she was with any of her friends, and if someone was stepping out of line, Willam had no problem letting them know.

The two reclined on the couch in peace as some program played across the screen but a nagging sensation in the back of Courtney's mind kept her from truly paying attention. She knew she was forgetting something but for the life of her, she had no inkling as to what. It was only when a commercial for local storage room rentals came on that she finally remembered. "Oh, yeah. Do you have anything planned for Sunday?" she asked Willam.

Thinking for moment, the dirty blonde replied, "Not that I know of. Why?"

"I need to leave my apartment for a few hours that afternoon. Do you mind if I hang out here?" Courtney asked as she gave her friend the best set of sad puppy eyes as she could muster.

"Ugh, fine. If you have to." Willam muttered with an exaggerated groan of annoyance. "I hate having to be so nice to you."

Rolling her eyes at the unconvincing display, Courtney cooed sweetly, "Thank you, Bill."

Try as she might to hide it, Willam's lips curled into a pleased grin as she questioned, "Maintenance again?"

"No, Kats is just moving in. Thought it'd be nice to give her some space as she gets settled in her room," Courtney replied back with a shrug as she returned to watching the TV.

At once, Willam's attitude did a complete 180 and she icily asked, "Who's 'Kats'?"

Turning back at the sharpness of the tone, Courtney responded slowly, "My neighbor, Katya...Bill, I told you about this already."

Shocked, the younger woman demanded, "When?"

"Last week!" Courtney insisted as her own emotions began to get the better of her.

The two held each other's gaze in a combative stare-down but Courtney had no clue as to why Willam was acting like this. She knows she mentioned it before; she was almost certain she still had the text saved in her phone from when she first told Willam. Either the other girl missed that part of the message or just didn't read it but either way, she had no call to act so bitchy about it now. Courtney had done nothing wrong and not even Willam was going to make her feel like she had. Taking a deep breath in order to keep her voice level, she asked calmly, "Why do you have such a problem with this?"

Willam's hand twitched ever so slightly, almost enough to make Courtney question doubt if it even happened, but to her surprise Willam's offended demeanor quickly dissolved into one of gloomy disappointment as she asked, "Why didn't you ask me?"

Taken aback, the blonde stumbled, "I-Would you have wanted to?"

"I don't know!" Willam blurted out defensively as she crossed her arms and pulled her legs closer to her chest. "Maybe?"

Despite her earlier intentions, Courtney did feel a twinge of guilt for not even considering asking Willam if she would want to move in with her. Moving across the couch to Willam's side, the older blonde explained, "It was nothing personal, honestly. She already lives across the hall so it just made sense to move in together. We'd thrown the idea around before but never gave it much thought until they raised our rent again last month. Katya was the one who introduced me to Violet, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Willam answered dismally.

Giving her friend a soft smile, she apologized, "Really, Bill, I'm sorry I didn't ask you. I promise that next time, you'll be my first choice."

Though she tried to resist it, a grin reappeared on Willam's lips as she retorted, "I better be, bitch, or this friendship is over."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new chapter is out a bit early so i can focus on finishing up 'We'd Be Good Together' in the next two weeks. The plan for the next two months is ideally to finish up this story (5 more chapters to go), put out at least the first chapter of a new AAA Girls fic (tentatively titled 'Where We Left Off' but it will not be a sequel to the last AAA girls story), and a holiday fic in mid-to-late Dec (which I am 99% certain I'll be calling it 'I'm Not Lazy' and it'll feature a new pairing I have yet to see anywhere. not say its not out there, i just can't recall if i've ever come across it before). final note for the next chapter of this story; it will finally have a little bit of smut :)

If it were at all possible at this point, Jinkx's passion for reading increased several times over after Sharon had given her the book. Of course, it was her favorite novel to return to but beyond that she found a deep interest in reading similar books on the subject of floriography. Every time she found a particularly interesting passage or historical account in her books, she found herself sharing it with her coworkers. Courtney and Ivy also developed an interest in the forgotten form of communication, though theirs was much more subdued, and occasionally discussed amongst themselves what a sight some of the bouquets must have been. Sharon and Violet had less of an enthusiasm for the subject but each listened politely whenever Jinkx would go off on her latest tangent. More than once during their morning chats, Jinkx found herself trailing off in embarrassment after realizing she was dominating the conversation with her relentless gushing over the topic. For her part, Sharon always sat across the table with a small amused smile painted on her lips and repeatedly assured the redhead that she didn't mind listening.

"It's nice to see you so passionate about something. I wish I was more like that," Sharon told her honestly after the most recent outburst.

Jinkx found herself flushing at the compliment and took a deep swig from her mug to give herself time to come up with an non-flustered response.

"I do need to tone it down more," she said in a guilty voice, "I know you guys must be getting tired of hearing me talk about it all the time."

"Not at all. They might not be as into it as you are, but Ivy and Courtney love to hear the stories you tell them...And who cares if Violet doesn't? No one likes hearing about her hook ups yet she still runs her mouth every time she gets laid."

It was true. Sometimes nothing short of a ball-gag could silence the youngest owner as she gossiped about her most recent liaisons. As of late there was one consistent partner she met with but other than explicitly describing what they did in bed, Violet was unusually tight-lipped about any further details. Jinkx always thought she'd be the only one to blush at Violet's stories but frequently Courtney could also be seen with a red face after listening to some of the most recent inane chatter regarding Violet's sex life. Often times Jinkx looked over during the conversations to find Violet with a taunting smirk on her face and Courtney with her head hung low to hide her fiery cheeks. It came as a relief to both women that Violet's stories gradually began to revolve around new partners.

"It's just so fascinating..." Jinkx continued on as she took short sips from her coffee. "For so long people used flowers or other plants to express the emotions they couldn't say otherwise. If you were too shy to admit you liked someone, you could give them a gardenia or acacia. If you didn't know how say you sympathized with someone's loss, you'd send a bouquet of stargazer lilies...And if you wanted to insult someone, just leave a geranium for them...It's such a lost art form..." she lamented with a heavy sigh.

"Then why don't you help people find it again?" Sharon asked casually as she leant forward in her seat.

Cocking her head to the side, Jinkx asked, "What do you mean?"

"Start creating bouquets with flowers that hold a special meaning...You always try to make each arrangement as unique as you can already, so why not add another little flair of your own to it?"

Shocked at the proposal, the redhead began haltingly, "I...I'd love to but..."

"But?" Sharon asked with a challenge in her voice.

Reluctantly, Jinkx admitted, "A lot of the flowers that I read about...we don't have them here...like heliotrope. I think I've only seen one other shop that's used them before and that was only for a wedding, not for their casual arrangements."

"That's what'll make yours so different; using flowers and plants no one else thinks to use...Jinkx, trust me; I've seen your work improve so much from when you first started here. If anyone could make this work; it'd be you."

"You think so?" Jinkx asked shyly.

"I do. I really do," Sharon assured her, even going so far as to hold her hand as she gazed into the younger woman's eyes. "And as far as finding all those other flowers goes; let me and Violet handle that. We know how to shop around. Just give me a list of what you want, and I can take it from there."

Jinkx stared at her boss for a moment completely stunned and overwhelmed. Sharon seemed to be telling her the truth; she really thought Jinkx could make good go of this. After a moment's thought, a bright grin broke out across the redhead's lips as she accepted the offer with a cheerful, "Thank you!"

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing," the blonde replied with a shrug. A smile was still present on her lips but she bit the interior of her cheek to keep it from spreading as wide as she'd like it to. Just something about seeing Jinkx so happy made her a little less cynical about the world but she'd be damned if she'd let anyone else know that.

"It's really not, Sharon," Jinkx replied gratefully as she scooted her seat closer the blonde's. "Thank you so much. I promise I'll do my best."

Before Sharon could think of a response, she found herself engulfed by the redhead once again but this time there was zero chance of someone walking in on them again. Melting into the embrace, she murmured again that it really wasn't a big of a deal but Jinkx just shook her head in disagreement. Even through her hair muffling the contact, she could feel the redhead's smile against the skin of her near bare shoulders. This time around, the hug ran its course until Jinkx broke away but all Sharon could really think of was how much she hoped her racing heartbeat wasn't as noticeable to the redhead as it was to her.

***************

Although it seemed like it would be easy enough at first to introduce the idea; it actually took a few weeks before things really got off the ground. One of the first obstacles of course was finding some of the more unique flowers and plants but while Sharon and Violet tracked down suppliers, Jinkx made due with the flowers she had on hand. It was a bit of a struggle in the beginning to bring up the idea with the customers; most just cared about a bouquet that looked good, never mind the meaning of the flowers within it. But with some persistence, Jinkx found a good segue into presenting her ideas without seeming pushy. She began with customers that didn't really have a solid idea in mind of what they wanted. Once she picked up on that, she asked in a very sweet and understanding voice what emotion were trying to convey with the arrangement. After listening to the reason for the bouquet and what the client was trying to communicate, she gave them a brief education on some of the flowers she thought would work best, as well as what they meant. Before long she created a customized insert listing the flowers and their general meanings and included one with each of the arrangements she designed. Much to everyone's surprise, that was all it took before customers began requesting personalized bouquets from her. She even developed her own opening tagline after thinking back to when she was first interviewed; 'What would you like your bouquet to say?'

She wasn't sure if Sharon ever caught on to it or if she even remembered what inspired her new slogan, but Jinkx loved seeing the slight curling of her lips as she rang up yet another one of Jinkx's signature bouquets at the register. All the girls had been so supportive as she tried out this new venture, she even swore her heart was close to bursting once Ivy congratulated her after selling her first one, but Sharon's support meant something special to her. It wasn't just that she was one of the owners; she had seen Jinkx's talent and encouraged it even when Jinkx herself felt less than confident. She always knew just the right way to nudge the redhead into showing more conviction with her decisions. Although Jinkx genuinely did love Ivy (only as a friend, she came to realize shortly after), she was a bit pushy even though she never did anything without Jinkx's best interests in mind.

She meant well, Jinkx knew that, but Sharon seemed to understand Jinkx's needs more deeply than Ivy did and that revelation came as quite a shock. Sharon knew when to back off with the pressure, when to call her on a bullshit excuse, and most importantly; never made Jinkx feel like she needed to rush into making a decision. If anything, she helped the redhead to see exactly what she wanted and allowed her move forward at her own pace as she worked to achieve it. Ivy would just drag her along for the ride, sometimes doing the work for her, and Jinkx had to admit; that wasn't really what she needed or wanted. She still loved her best friend more than anything...but she came to understand it should only ever remain a friendship.

Slowly but surely, Jinkx's bouquets became the main attraction of the shop and the demand was so high that she had to give Courtney and Ivy a quick tutorial so that either could make similar arrangements on these days she was not around. Not that the girls weren't begging to learn anyway. She also left a long cheat sheet at the work benches just in case they ever got stuck. It wasn't nearly as in depth as it could have been but Jinkx felt it covered the basics pretty well.

Aside from the happy customers, the owners were also rather pleased. Business was given a boost once more and they were well on their way to being considered one of the top shops in the area and not just among the floristry community. Some days there was hardly a chance to rest between the orders to be filled and helping the customers that walked in off the street. Violet even joked every now and then that they might need to hire Willam to cover the slack. Immediately, Sharon would shoot down the idea with a terrified look, undoubtedly imaging the personal hell she would have to live in should Willam and Violet ever work together. Despite her reluctance to allow both women in the shop while she was also working, she begrudgingly accepted Willam's ever increasing presence, particularly during Courtney's shifts. By this time Willam was practically an honorary employee with how often she came by the shop to harass Courtney...and of course the other girls as well once she remembered they were also there. It was getting harder to deny that she was almost a permanent fixture at this point, stopping by nearly every day after she got off work. Her frequent visits had become so blatantly obvious that Sharon even commented on it one Saturday during their one of their rare breaks between customers.

"That's...interesting," she noted in a surprised voice as the bell above the front door rang.

Looking up from the invoice for their most recent shipment of flowers, Violet asked distractedly, "What?"

Motioning towards the door, Sharon subtly pointed out the pair of blondes walking in together, oblivious to most everything around them as they made their way towards the work benches. With a slight grin on her lips, Violet agreed, "Oh, yeah... _That_."

Somewhat amused herself, Sharon inquired with her own smile, "How long has _that_ been going on?" referring of course to the fact that they had arrived together, rather than Willam's usual delay in visiting until after she had woken up much later in the day.

"About a month, I'd say," Violet answered, unabashedly staring at the two women sitting close together while Courtney got to work on the day's orders.

Though Courtney was dressed in typical work attire plus her green apron, Willam herself looked as though she spent quite a bit of extra effort that morning getting ready. Her makeup was clean and polished, unlike her usual messy chic and her hair was perfectly styled to frame her face. Even her outfit seemed to have been chosen specifically to draw in attention. Her skirt was just long enough to cover what was needed but still flouncy enough to catch someone's eye as she walked and her top was of course tight and low cut to show off the body she was so proud of. In all, she looked very much like a peacock on display but her focus was strictly on the woman next to her. Even with the distance from the front counter to the alcove, the owners could tell that Willam and Courtney were engaged in their usual game of teasing one another but while Courtney's posture was relaxed and at peace, Willam's was showy and practically demanding Courtney's attention remain steadily on her.

"She's really been laying it on heavy the last two weeks," Violet mentioned casually as she returned to reviewing the paper in front of her.

Still watching the younger women, Sharon asked absently, "Why's that?"

Violet's smile turned into a mischievous smirk as she answered with a knowing tone, "Courtney's got a new roommate..."

Intrigued, the older blonde mused, "Oh?"

Unable to contain herself, Violet added in, "Cute little thing too. Name's Katya...blonde, toned, hideous laugh."

"100% Courtney's type it seems," Sharon commented with a full blown grin as she raised up her phone to capture a quick picture of the pair across the room.

Rolling her eyes at her friend, Violet further explained, "And 100% platonic, too. Willam will figure that out...eventually. Katya's type tends to be more...bitchy."

Smirking deviously as she typed away on her phone, Sharon asked, "And how do you know so much about this?"

Violet paused for a moment, seemingly debating if she should disclose the next piece of information, before ultimately giving in with a teasing tone, "How do you think?"

Sharon's fingers halted in their clicking against the touch screen as the dots connected in her mind. "And that's how you found Courtney?" she asked, already guessing the answer.

"Mh-mm, Katy's her neighbor...was, I should say," Violet confirmed proudly.

Though she didn't have all the details, she finally knew how two people as different as Violet and Courtney came to know one another, and that was good enough for Sharon. Resuming her texting, Sharon sent the picture off and quickly changed the subject, "How long do you give them?"

Violet's interest returned to the pair of blondes as Willam checked her buzzing phone and immediately turned a light pink. Noticing her reaction, Courtney appeared to be asking what was wrong while trying to sneak a peak at the screen. Hastily, Willam turned her phone over and locked the screen before Courtney was able to catch a glimpse of the image. Glaring over at the front counter, she flipped off Sharon, who was sending a taunting wave to the pair, before turning back to Courtney to assure her that nothing was wrong and under no circumstances would she be allowed to look at what was just sent.

Always one for fair play, Violet said mildly, "I imagine she'll make a move before you do," and promptly shut down any further teasing as a bright-faced Sharon angrily excused herself for an early smoke break.

*************

In the midst of business picking up once again in the shop, Jinkx somehow found herself becoming entangled of one the customer's private affairs. Under normal circumstances, Jinkx would never allow herself to become involved with a client's personal life but this wasn't just any customer...it was Courtney's roommate...and the way Courtney practically begged for her help, well...Jinkx is a sucker for sad puppy eyes. And adding in how Katya genuinely seemed willing to listen to any advice Jinkx could offer her?

Ugh.

Damn her motherly instincts. She knew this had the potential to blow up in all of their faces but a part of her was reminded of all the romantic stories she had fed Courtney and Ivy and undoubtedly that sparked this whole idea. Even though she knew she shouldn't; she did feel somewhat responsible and wanted to at least give the idea a fair shot...and maybe she just wanted to a modern day reenactment of all those tales she had read about. How badly could things be screwed up anyway?

Her introduction to Katya ought to have provided some clue regarding that...

The first time Katya came into the shop, it was...eventful, to say the least. In less than ten minutes, she had scared off Sharon, inadvertently pissed off Willam, embarrassed Courtney, and made Jinkx herself long for the days she was a barista...things were so much simpler back then...

It was a pretty typical Wednesday to begin with; same amount of orders to be filled, same predictable rush of customers. Jinkx was working the afternoon shift with Sharon and Willam had just arrived about half an hour earlier. It was a little unusual as of late for her to be there when Courtney wasn't working but Jinkx didn't mind at all; she was good company and her and Sharon's teasing of one another always brought a smile to her face. They were all gathered around the work benches for the usual late afternoon lag between waves of customers when Courtney of all people walked in...with a new friend in tow.

Sharon had been the first to notice them as her head instinctively popped up once the bell above the door rang. Almost immediately she greeted the pair, making sure to use Courtney's name just to get a reaction from Willam...and she didn't disappoint. Despite the very light hint of a blush, the dirty blonde solidly refused to take the bait, strongly disbelieving that Courtney would come by on her day off. However, once Courtney returned the greeting she immediately spun around in her seat only to be met with quite a surprise. Her joyful smile was quickly replaced by a shocked expression and then a pensive stare as she tried to figure out who the unknown woman was that was hanging around so close to her friend's side. Her lips curled downward ever so slightly once she realized that Courtney had acknowledged everyone in the room but her. In fact, she was studiously refusing to look anywhere close to Willam's direction, something that certainly didn't escape Jinkx or Sharon's notice.

As Willam's fingernails drummed along table's surface in an subtle effort to at least catch Courtney's eye, Sharon inquired as to what Courtney was doing here yet again on her day off.

"We're actually here to see Jinkx," she explained as she turned her smile to the redhead in question.

Caught off-guard, Jinkx's eyes flickered over to Willam for a brief second before she regained enough composure to ask what it is that the pair needed.

"Well, first," Courtney began cheerfully, "I'd like to introduce you to-"

"Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova..." the mystery blonde interrupted with a heavy Russian accent.

Jinkx sat stunned for a moment before said woman broke out in a grin and added without a trace of a foreign accent, Russian or otherwise, "Or you can just call me Katya, which ever's easier."

Jinkx was unsure of what to say to that as she had no clue which of the accents, Russian or American, was real. But while the redhead remained silent, Sharon's eyes narrowed as she gave the beaming woman a once-over before finally declaring in a deadpan tone, "There's not an ounce of Russian in you, is there?"

Giving the older blonde a thoughtful look, Katya replied, "Could be...if you're offering."

Choking a little at the audacity of this woman's behavior, Jinkx felt herself flush as her eyes darted back and forth between the two women. Unfazed, Sharon kept her unamused expression firmly in place and stated coldly, "I'm not Russian."

"I'm not picky," Katya insisted as she leant closer to the older woman with a flirty smile.

Jinkx's heart was racing in her chest at the exchange by the time Courtney finally found the brain power to cut through the banter and scold her friend harshly, "Katya!"

Turning towards Courtney, the younger blonde gave her a disarming smile and argued sweetly, "There's room in my heart for both of you!"

"Katya," Courtney groaned in exasperation as she rubbed her temple with her fingers.

Still with a joyful grin, Katya enclosed her arms around Courtney's waist and reassured her, "Don't worry, принцесса; you're still my favorite."

Courtney's cheeks filled with a moderate pink but that was nothing compared to the heavy flush of Willam's as she let out a noise of indignation. Her hand was clenched into a tight fist as she glared unlovingly at the pair across from her. She seemed ready to storm out but pride held her in place.

"You are _definitely_ Violet's friend," Sharon stated in an entirely uncomplimentary manner. Nevertheless it earned a proud smile from the pseudo-Russian.

Directing her full attention to her employee, Sharon asked in long-suffering tone, "What is she here for?"

Explaining quickly to get the situation back on track, Courtney began with, "There's a woman Katya likes-"

"That poor girl," Sharon muttered.

"-So I suggested buying a gift to test the waters a little."

"A court order wouldn't work instead?" the older blonde asked sincerely.

Courtney shot her a mildly scolding look at the comment but even though it was one of her better attempts, Sharon couldn't help but to grin at how ineffective it was against her.

"So one of Jinkx's then?" she asked with an arched brow, already knowing the answer.

Grinning brightly, Courtney nodded as she replied, "Mh-mm!"

"I'll ring it up awhile," Sharon stated with a fond smile for the younger blonde before walking up to the front counter to prepare for the upcoming purchase.

With Sharon's approval, Jinkx was ready to begin working but as soon as she was about to begin with her usual tagline, Willam cut her off with a thoroughly unfriendly, "I think it's safe to assume this _isn't_ for Violet?"

Somewhat guiltily, Katya shook her head and gave an apologetic smile.

Willam wasn't even attempting to hide the hostility in her voice as she asked, "Does she know?"

"She does," Katya replied back calmly. Despite the composed exterior, Jinkx could see the anxiety slowly building up behind the young woman's eyes as Willam scowled at her with a silent attitude that seemed to promise 'I'll make sure of that.'

Having enough of the overt aggression, Courtney butted in with a stern warning, " _Bill_."

Jinkx would swear to Ivy later that night that she practically heard the mental conversation the two held as they glared openly at one another as though no one else were in the room.

'Be nice,' Courtney seemed to say.

'This is as nice as she'll get.'

Fed up with her unwarranted attitude, Courtney asked through clenched teeth, "Can I speak with you... _in the back_."

For a moment it seemed as if Willam were going to refuse or simply ignore the demand outright, but to Jinkx's astonishment, Willam shrugged her shoulders and followed the older blonde towards the break room. It was only as they disappeared past the door frame that Jinkx realized she was itching for a fight.

A slightly worried expression had begun to pass over her face before Katya interrupted her thoughts with a surprising question, "That's Willam?"

"Yeah," she replied in a shocked voice as muffled squabbling slowly penetrated the room. How had Katya known her name?

Smiling immensely, Katya glanced towards the area the pair had disappeared into and noted in an amused tone, "Aw, she's cute. Good for Courtney."

With her brow furrowing at the unusual comment, Jinkx started to question what she meant by that statement when Sharon walked back up to the benches and stated, "While they're having their... _discussion_ , how about we let Jinkx get started on your bouquet?"

Nodding her head, Katya turned towards the youngest assistant with an off-putting eager expression.

Forgoing her typical opening spiel for time's sake, Jinkx instead inquired, "Do you know anything about flowers already?"

Falling back into her former mischievous mood, Katya offered teasingly, "Mm...Violets?...Or maybe just the one."

Smiling awkwardly, Jinkx began to mumble, "Um, that's not quite-"

"But I'd have to say I know her as less of a _shrinking_ Violet and more of a _screaming_ one," Katya quipped with lascivious wink thrown in.

Feeling her cheeks beginning to burn, Jinkx's eyes darted down to her hands as her mind began recalling all the tales Violet had been sharing up until late of her one very consistent, very explorative partner. It suddenly made sense why Violet always made it a point to look directly at Courtney as she recounted all the things she had done in bed the previous night...No wonder the blonde became so embarrassed she could barely make eye contact with anyone following most of those stories.

Though she didn't dare to look up just yet, Jinkx could easily picture Sharon glaring daggers towards the younger woman as she boasted of her sexual history with as many plant based jokes as she could think of on the spot. It was clear by now where Violet must have gotten most, if not all, of the puns she had used to annoy Sharon over the past couple of months. And now the source was standing directly in front of her with her unique 'skill' at full blast...

Either fortunately or unfortunately, Jinkx was unable to hear most of the one-side conversation over the sound of blood pounding in her ears. When it finally began to die down, she was able to tune in for the tail end of the joking spree.

"Ooh, that stare's giving me sweaty palms," Katya laughed as her ruby lips stretched from ear to ear.

Her focus was strictly on Sharon at the moment who now held a look of horrified helplessness as the onslaught of puns ceased to let up. There was a slight twitch in her cheek as Katya's shit-eating grin grew ever wider with each passing comment. Jinkx felt she should step in and divert Katya's attention away from the older blonde, but between the relentless jokes spewing from Katya's mouth and the undeniably louder argument filtering in from the back room, she wasn't sure which situation she ought to address first.

It was almost a relief when Katya exclaimed unexpectedly, "Oh, I do know something!"

"Yeah?" Jinkx asked with a cautious optimism in her voice.

"I know how to make tulips part!" the blonde declared proudly.

"That's it! I'm done!" Sharon yelled in an entirely harassed tone as she bolted towards the break room. "I need a fucking drink!"

Calling after her, Katya laughed, "What? I didn't even get to say 'My floral skills are amazing-'"

"Katya!" Courtney interrupted, sounding completely fed up with everything around her. Jinkx had never seen or even imagined that someone normally so calm could look so pissed off as when she stormed in from the break room. It was a small guess to say things had not gone well with Willam.

She was halfway across the room as Sharon rushed towards her own sanctuary in the back. Almost at the same moment when she was about to cross the threshold, Willam burst through with a near murderous look in her eye. Her gaze connected with Sharon's and scarcely a second passed before she turned around with Sharon following closely behind and slipping her hand comfortingly into the younger woman's lower back. Jinkx watched somewhat sadly as the two left, undoubtedly disappearing into Sharon's apartment for a much needed venting session. She wished she could follow after the women as well, but she knew it would be better for Willam with as few other people around as she got her frustrations off her chest.

Although Willam and Courtney had fought in front of her before, this most recent argument seemed to be on an entirely different level. She vaguely wondered how long it would take before the two made up but Courtney's voice broke her train of thought.

"...Last one," she consented with heavy reluctance.

"I'll leaf it alone," Katya said with small, consoling smile for her unhappy friend.

Both of the other women let out a groan at the final pun and Jinkx finally found the confidence to take back control of the conversation. Very patiently, she asked Katya, "So do you know _anything_ about flowers? Genuinely?"

Behaving much more like a typical customer, the blonde replied in a slightly shamed manner, "Sorry, no...Pretty much all of my experience with any kind of plant consists of knowing which ones I like to eat. I could probably tell you more about 'A rose by any other name' than an actual rose."

"Not a problem at all," Jinkx assured her with a forgiving smile. "Most everyone that comes into the shop is in the same boat as you...So, when I'm working on a bouquet for someone and they aren't sure of what they'd like, I try to find out what inspired them to pick flowers as a gift in the first place...Do you feel comfortable sharing that with me?"

Katya nodded silently as she picked at her nail beds whilst trying to decide where was the best place for her to start. Jinkx recognized the nervous habit and felt a sort of kinship with the young woman. Occasionally she was known to pluck at the skin around her nails or chew them absently if she were alone. It wouldn't surprise her if Katya's tireless spouting of jokes was another manifestation of that anxiety. She probably felt more than her fair share under Willam's venomous gaze, along with whatever reason she must have for coming here with Courtney to begin with.

Taking a quick breath, Katya began to vaguely describe her situation to the younger woman, "Well...there's a girl who I...I guess I want to thank her first of all, but I also want to know if maybe...she likes me back? I mean, she's really confusing most of the time. Like sometimes she's all nice and talks to me for hours and helps me find books and then other times she just looks so done with me! Like glaring at me or slamming her apartment door in my face, kicking me out of the library-"

"Maybe you shouldn't tease her so much," Courtney mumbled mostly to herself.

"But she puts up with it!" Katya argued passionately. "Not a lot of people do..."

Courtney's gaze turned incredibly sympathetic at the statement but before she could offer a counterpoint, Katya continued on, "I know I can be annoying, and I'm really trying to work on it, but she...she doesn't really say anything about it. I mean, yeah, she gets frustrated but she never really tells me off for it or like, tries to change me. She usually just rolls her eyes and groans, or you know, walks away...She's different...and I guess, I really like that...But that's what's got me so confused! I don't know if she actually likes me, or hates me or just...tolerates me."

Understandingly, Jinkx nodded her head and questioned the blonde gently, "So you want a way to put yourself out there but not too much...just in case?"

"Yes!" Katya groaned dramatically. The relief of being understood was clearly painted on her face as she threw herself comically into the nearest chair.

Throwing in an empathetic smile of her own, the redhead stated confidently, "I think I can help you with that."

Courtney and Katya turned to each with matching grins and thanked Jinkx repeatedly for taking on the cause.

"I knew you'd be the right person to ask," Courtney mentioned sincerely. It seems this had been a point of debate as the older blonde informed her much later on. Katya had been reluctant to involve anyone she didn't know into this affair but Courtney had been adamant that Jinkx was the most knowledgeable on the topic and Violet had agreed as well, once asked.

Flushing a little at the praise, Jinkx began once more with her signature opener, "So what would you like your bouquet to say?"

Pausing for a moment in thought, Katya offered, "'Marry me'?"

Both women shot the blonde a mildly scolding look but Jinkx was exceptionally indulgent as she suggested, "That might be a little ambitious for now..."

"Yeah..." Katya agreed absently, "Should save that for the second date...Mm...How about 'Fuck me'?"

"No," Courtney insisted in a deadpan manner.

"'Date me'?"

"Try again," the blonde replied sternly.

Katya shot a pleading look towards Jinkx but the redhead refused to answer for her. She simply smiled sweetly and waited patiently for Katya to arrive at a happy medium by herself. Groaning softly, Katya put forth one final guess, "Um...'Thank you...and I think I kinda like you?'"

Nodding her head approvingly, Jinkx replied, "That'll work."

Grateful to have finally found the correct answer, Katya scooted her chair closer to the work benches to watch as Jinkx rushed around gathering the appropriate flowers. As she would with most other customers, Jinkx explained each species of plant life she selected and what they represented.

Holding up a series of small bluish-purple flowers, Jinkx began with, "To create a base layer for the bouquet, I'm going to start by adding in a flower that signifies 'gratitude'; the bellflower. Unfortunately it's not quite big enough to use as a focal point but it does work as a perfect accent flower for this arrangement. And it also makes sense to include it since you said you wanted to thank the person you're giving this to..."

Pulling closer the next handful to add in, Jinkx separated the individual stems and carefully placed four medium-blue plants between the bellflower clusters.

"The second flower I'm going to use," she explained, "is a bit more eye-catching and will also help draw the line of sight towards the center of the piece where the main flower will go...These are called delphinium. They're a bit longer than any of the other plants I'll be adding so they'll just be in here sparingly. This flower has a few meanings, but in this instance they'll be symbolizing 'attachment', fitting for how you feel, and also a 'big heart', which is how you described this woman."

"Trixie," Katya supplied with a hint of shyness. "Her name's Trixie."

"Trixie," Jinkx repeated with a soft smile. "It's cute."

The blonde's eyes darted to Courtney's, who sent back an encouraging smile and enclosed her hand around Katya's for a comforting squeeze. Pretending not to notice for Katya's peace of mind, Jinkx continued on to describe the final flower, "This is the last flower I'll be using with any true meaning...It's one that's not usually used in professional bouquets but it is found in a lot of people's gardens because of the look and fragrance. Care to guess what it is?"

Leaning closer to sniff the purple flower held in front of her, Katya paused to try and remember the name before it finally struck her, "Lilac?"

Smiling in affirmation, Jinkx explained, "This one also has a few different meanings, mostly depending on the color of the flower given. It can be pretty important to double check that the flower's symbolism doesn't change with the color being used. In this case, we're adding in the traditional light purple lilac...not just because it matches the other flowers, but also because of what it'll mean as the focus point of the bouquet; 'the first emotions of love'...That's _just_ bold enough for now, don't you think?"

Katya let out an appreciative laugh and agreed wholeheartedly to the question.

Wrapping up the mini tutorial, Jinkx stated, "Now the final touch for this arrangement is to break up all this blue and purple some additional colors. If the delphinium wasn't so tall, I'd suggest using pink stock to add some height but I think for this bouquet, that might be a little overpowering. Instead, I'm going to use a little bit of this pale pink heather and just a few springs of baby's breath. Last thing is a touch more of green..."

Holding up two samples of ferns, Jinkx asked the young woman, "Do you like the sword fern or the feather fern more?"

Surprised at the question, Katya stared intensely at the two plants for almost a full minute before deciding on the feather fern. Secretly, Jinkx had hoped she would pick that one but she wanted to offer Katya a choice and allow her to feel like she helped contribute more to the creation of the bouquet.

Once everything was moved into place and a bow wrapped snugly around the neck of the vase, Jinkx stood back to let Katya take a good long look at what she had prepared. Although she never got tired of seeing her customers' elated faces when they first see the finished product; Katya's smile was certainly one that would forever remain special in her memory.

Katya hardly seemed able to control the joyful grin as she declared, "Trixie is going to love it."

Before Jinkx could say anything else, she found herself engulfed by a pair of strong, unyielding arms and was being thanked once again for all her help. Jinkx let out an amused chuckled and returned the embrace for a moment before leading her up to the front counter to complete the transaction. Sharon had left everything set up for the check out so all that was left to do was swipe Katya's card for payment and include an insert with the flowers and their meaning. As they waited for the receipt to print, Katya held the bouquet much in the same manner as one would hold a child and glanced down every so often with a pleased smile on her face.

The three chatted casually for a few moments before the pair of blondes took their leave. As Courtney held the door open for her friend, she called out another quick 'Thank you' and promised to tell Jinkx how things go once Trixie receives the bouquet. Jinkx had a tentative smile on her face at the thought, somewhat grateful that she wouldn't have to be there to see the reaction, yet curious about it all the same. With a shake of her head and silent wish of luck for her new friend, she returned to the work benches to clean up the mess and wait for the next customer to appear. Everything was nearly spotless once more when Sharon reappeared to poke her head in cautiously from the break room.

"She's gone, right?" she asked with a hint of nervousness.

Lips curling once more, Jinkx assured her that both blondes had left for the day.

"Thank god," Sharon commented with a relieved sigh. "I don't think handle any more of those god-awful puns right now...I'm sorry I left you with that."

"Don't worry about it," Jinkx replied with a good-natured smile. "She really isn't that bad."

Unconvinced, the blonde remarked, "I'll take your word for it."

"How's Willam?" Jinkx asked timidly. She wanted to check on her friend's state of being but wasn't quite sure where the limit was. She hoped Sharon could provide some insight before she tried texting her later that night.

"She's...frustrated," Sharon said mildly. "Still in my apartment calming down but it's better than ten minutes ago...she's got some shit to work out."

"With Courtney?" the redhead supplied, already guessing the answer.

"With and about," Sharon replied vaguely.

The answer definitely piqued Jinkx's interest but she knew it wasn't her place to ask anything further. Instead she simply gave Sharon a brief summary of what had happened after she had left. For her part, Sharon listened patiently but Jinkx couldn't help but to get the feeling she had some differing opinions from Courtney on how the situation should be handled. She held her tongue though and only expressed a desire to have seen the bouquet before the women left.

The pair finished out the day as they normally would and as promised, as soon Courtney arrived for her shift the next day, she rushed over to tell Jinkx how the gift was received. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to see Trixie's reaction for herself; she promised to wait outside while Katya delivered the bouquet, but it seems the smile on Katya's face told her all that she needed to know.

Things quieted down until about two weeks later when Katya burst through the front door and walked purposefully up to the front counter with yet another bright smile. Sharon and Violet had been discussing new advertising plans when she arrived but the conversation stopped dead in its tracks the instant Sharon recognized the woman. Her gazed darted between the women, Violet now mirroring Katya's teasing grin, and immediately excused herself far, far away from the pair. Willam and Violet were bad enough, but these two together?

Hell, no.

Violet laughed openly at Sharon's less than subtle attempt at fleeing and granted Katya permission to wander directly in the alcove to speak with Courtney and Jinkx. It was a short guess to figure out what she was here for but Jinkx still waited until Katya had asked for another bouquet herself before bringing up the subject. Usually it made no difference to her what a person intended to do with one her arrangements once they were out of the shop, but Sharon's silent reservations from earlier caused her to pause and think for moment before ultimately agreeing. It didn't hurt Katya's cause that Courtney also directed one of her best set of puppy eyes towards the redhead the second she showed a hint of hesitation.

Much like before, Jinkx wheedled out the emotions Katya was trying to express and selected flowers that matched as closely to the sentiments as they had in stock. The entire arrangement took at most fifteen minutes to complete and soon Katya was sent on her way with a new bouquet and insert. Courtney left the shop a few hours later once her shift ended and to Jinkx's relief, mentioned she was picking up Willam from her work to grab a bite to eat before heading to yet another club. It was strange to Jinkx's mind that neither Courtney or Willam acknowledged the rather public fight they had had two weeks ago; Willam just ignored the subject entirely while Courtney danced around it with incomplete or vague answers, but she was glad the two were able to to make up. Things did seem to be... _different_ between them though. They still hung around each other as often as before and teased one another endlessly but it all just seemed...off. Not quite forced but definitely not as natural as it had been before...almost like each were hiding something...Well, it wasn't her place to question it if they didn't want to share.

Once she was sure Courtney was gone, Sharon made her way over to Jinkx's side to inquire about the most recent bouquet. She listened with a pensive expression on her face before staring off into the distance. Jinkx could tell she was having an internal debate as whether or not she should say something but Jinkx encouraged her to speak her mind. Reluctantly, the older blonde gave a heavy sigh and informed her youngest assistant of her opinion on the subject, "I can't really see this ending well for Katya...She needs to talk to this girl...If she starts relying on the bouquets, then something's bound to go wrong. They're just meant to be a gift, not the primary means of communication..."

Jinkx certainly could understand Sharon's concerns but to her they seemed a bit premature...It was only two bouquets thus far and Jinkx doubted this was the only way the two women would talk to one another...Trixie just happened to like the first bouquet so much that Katya thought it was a good idea to give her a second...That didn't seem to indicate any lack of communication. But all the same, Jinkx reassured Sharon that she wouldn't allow Katya to become too reliant on her bouquets; if she came in a third time, she would be sure to sit her down and make that point very clearly to her.

Sharon seemed unconvinced but let subject die anyway. She only offered one more piece of advice, "Just be careful with this...There's no shame in calling it quits. And don't be afraid to say 'no' if things start getting out of hand, okay?"

Jinkx thanked her for the concern but assured her nothing was going to go wrong; she wouldn't let things go that far...As it turns out; Sharon's trepidation was right on the money as everyone discovered just a few short weeks later.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well this chapter took a hot minute to write. next update might be a bit later than two weeks, i want to work on some of the new fics i have scheduled for next month. for those of you celebrating; have a safe holiday, especially if you have to be around difficult family today.

The following Sunday Katya moved in without any incident other than a broken picture and perhaps a small chunk of wood missing from the door frame to her room that she swore was like that before she got there. Courtney just rolled her eyes and let it go with a forgiving smile. After Katya had left for classes the following day she found the missing piece of wood kicked under the small table between their rooms and reattached it with a bit of Elmer's glue. No harm, no foul. For all she know she might have done herself one day without realizing it.

Courtney was quite surprised with how easily she settled into having a new roommate. After one very unfortunate three month experiment with a very messy "friend" who seemed to have encouraged an ant colony to move in alongside her; she told herself never again. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Courtney had to face facts; she couldn't afford to live alone after the last rent increase and she didn't really want to find anywhere else anymore. She was almost banging her head on Katya's door when the younger woman answered while holding an identical notification slip that had been taped to everyone's door whilst they were out. Very reluctantly, Courtney asked, "Is that offer still open?"

She expected Katya to make a joke of it, something to the effect of "Which offer?" But she didn't...she just gave her a supportive smile and nodded her head. Seems she had been having the same thoughts too. It was a shame though...Courtney had prepared a number of witty remarks for all of Katya's possible comments, yet she had no chance to use them...Pity.

Instead the two made plans to alert the building supervisor of their impending rearrangements and hashed out who would move in with whom...If you asked each one how they made their decision, Courtney would say they had an open and frank discussion regarding it. Katya however would declare that it was decided by a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors...Your decision who you want to believe. Either way, it was determined that Katya would move into Courtney's spare room at the end of the month and their choice to live together worked out quite well for both of them.

Katya was clean and orderly, her unusual taste in baubles aside, and for the most part she was rather quiet in the apartment...ignoring the few instances when Violet spent the night. Even after all this time, Courtney found she could barely look at either woman after she heard their sessions late at night. Though they did try their best to keep it down; the wall were thin...so very little was left to the imagination. It was a small relief the frequency had steadily dropped but unfortunately, Courtney could probably give a very detailed description of Violet's favorite bedroom activities if she were asked...and could find the strength to answer.

But apart from fewer hookups that Courtney had more or less witnessed, Violet was becoming a regular guest in their apartment in the normal capacity. Occasionally she and Katya could be found cooking in the kitchen or watching TV on the couch but Courtney was hardly there long enough to really take notice of how long she stayed or how often she came by. Most of her time was still spent with Willam, who seemed to be trying to make plans with her almost every day. She was flattered, she had to admit, but she sometimes wondered what it was that Willam saw in her. They had similar interests, sure, but they were still very different in most aspects of their lives. Courtney was outgoing and boisterous only as needed while with Willam, that seemed to be her default. Courtney reveled in peaceful, homey atmospheres whereas Willam thrived anywhere she could be surrounded by people.

And people certainly seemed to love her, or at least enough of them did. Sure, they were plenty that would go so far as to say they hated Willam with a passion but more than enough welcomed her wherever she went and that was all she really needed. She could be the belle of the ball if she wanted yet she chose to hang around someone who much more comfortable going along with the crowd. Courtney certainly wasn't a wallflower but she wasn't vying to be the center of attention...at least not if she were competing against Willam. She just allowed herself to be taken along for the ride wherever Willam wanted to drag her...which as of late involved less clubs and more unconventional settings, at least for Willam.

Increasingly, Courtney found herself accompanying the dirty blonde as they engaged in some unexpected and occasionally quite ordinary activities. They had spent days at the beach together, going to brunch and dinner, movies at the theaters or Willam's apartment, even trips to amusements parks and festivals. They had even tried hiking together...once. The sudden downpour that had caught both women by surprise as they marched through the woods was more than enough to dampen their enthusiasm to try again.

When Courtney had first met Willam, she never thought that this would be where they'd end up but she wasn't complaining. Even though they bickered, even fought at times, about petty shit the other person did that annoyed them; Courtney was more than content with the relationship she shared with Willam. It was hard at times to imagine her life before she met the other woman...It seemed so lackluster now. She was similar to Katya, there was no doubt about that, yet still there was something about her that made her so different and Courtney still had yet to figure out what exactly it was. And certainly since Katya became a more prominent fixture in her life, Courtney was seeing different sides of Willam.

Although Courtney hadn't really intended to keep Willam away from her apartment, she always declined having Willam come by if she knew Katya would be there. She wasn't entirely sure why but she didn't want the two meeting...at least not yet. Eventually they would have to but Courtney was determined to keep them apart as long as possible. She also had made it a point to keep herself from mentioning Katya in Willam's presence if she could help it. The younger woman always held her tongue but Courtney got the feeling she still held some resentment for the fact that Katya was Courtney's first and only choice as a new roommate. She seemed to have accepted Courtney's apology but whenever she heard the blonde talking about her new roommate, her demeanor would always become more standoffish and annoyed...so Courtney just stopped talking about her whenever she could.

Easy fix.

Though Courtney's life has definitely become more eventful since meeting Willam, a small part of her longed to return to that first meeting and warn herself not to become so attached. She had always thought of herself as an independent, free-spirit who didn't need to rely on the company of others to feel content...that was why she was so comfortable living on her own. Yet since meeting Willam, she found herself feeling lonely far more often and in a way that tended to confuse her. Even if she were surrounded by customers or the coworkers she loved...if Willam wasn't there, sometimes a wave of _something_ that would wash over her. Not quite yearning...no more like she was homesick...for Willam. So when the dirty blonde had taken to visiting her at the shop more often, she never said a word against it. She came to look forward to that point in the late afternoon when Willam would saunter in after clocking out at her own job and stay with Courtney through the end of the night or come by to pick her up if she happened to work the opening shift that morning. Those predictable moments where she knew she would see Willam again made it more bearable but it still frustrated her all same to have become so emotionally reliant on another person.

Today she was feeling that annoyance in full force; Willam was working overtime so Courtney would not have a chance to see until much later this evening. If she hadn't been scheduled for the morning shift, it probably would have been more tolerable, but here she was stuck in the dead zone between the morning and afternoon rush with nothing to do other than daydream and reflect on how pathetic her life had become.

She stole a glance over to Jinkx who had thrown herself deep into the world of books once more. Unless Courtney missed her guess, it looked to be the same novel Sharon had given her all those weeks ago. The bookmark Jinkx was using seemed to have been made from some of the ribbon that had been wrapped around the paperback but that was something Courtney had noticed long ago. Still it brought a smile to her face whenever she thought of all the little things they do just for each other. She wondered briefly if Sharon had any notion at the time of what chain reaction she would set off when she first gave that book to Jinkx. Not that Courtney was complaining; she was glad the shop was busier. The owners certainly deserved that success but all the same; one small action sparked a whole explosion that led to Jinkx's arrangements becoming one of the city's featured novelties.

That brought Courtney's attention to the front counter. Sharon was currently reviewing the credentials of some new plant retailers she might use in the future as suppliers for Jinkx's more unusual flower requests. She certainly was going the extra mile for her assistant and it seemed to be so obvious that she had a thing for the redhead, yet Jinkx was oblivious...and Sharon was making no move to change that...It was frustrating watching it play out day after day. Courtney desperately wanted _someone_ to push things along. She couldn't and most definitely wouldn't after the promise she made to Willam but Ivy on the other hand...certainly she could see what was going on or maybe even had some insight into Jinkx's feelings...No, even if she did, that would only help on Jinkx's side and Courtney knew the redhead well enough to know she'd never make the first move...it would have to be Sharon...Of the two, she was easily more of a risk taker...she just needs the right nudge to get things going.

Violet!

If anyone could help, it would definitely be Violet; she knew both women very well and of course, she knew how to play Sharon like a fiddle when she wants to! She'd be perfect...But almost certainly word would get back to Willam and that would result in yet another fight...undoubtedly one of epic proportions. Damn. Looks like Courtney will have to keep her promise whether she wants to or not.

Mm...

In the lazy way that minds tend to wander off, she began to think about Violet...and a little bit about Katya too. The pair complemented each other quite well and they seemed very compatible, particularly in bed. Why hadn't _they_ made a move? They seemed like they could be happy in a relationship together...maybe one of them does want a relationship and the other wants to keep it casual...Katya would probably be the one to want something more in Courtney's mind; she was more of a nester and Violet seemed to be a little too wild to want to settled down just yet...Or maybe Courtney is reading too much into the situation and just has relationships on her mind. It's quite possible both just want a casual friends-with-benefits arrangement. Much like Sharon and Willam's thing...before they broke it off that is. Courtney now knew why Sharon decided to call it quits but she never questioned Willam how she felt about it. Sure, she said that it never meant anything but Willam was never the type to really talk about her feelings anyway...

Courtney's thoughts were now treading towards territory best left unexplored but she was helpless to stop herself now...she found herself wondering if Willam and Violet ever hooked up...or even if Sharon and Violet had...

No.

She was almost certain that their relationship genuinely was more mother-daughter in nature and nothing more. Even if Sharon did used to sleep with Willam, it was hard to imagine her even attempting something like that with Violet...even tossing aside the brunette's predilections in bed.

Violet worked well with Katya because they each had that same taste for the burlesque and the fetishes that often went with it. As intimidating as Sharon could be, Courtney never really got the vibe from her in the same way she had from Violet. In truth, some of what she had heard from Violet concerned her...she could never bring herself to attempt what she was sure Violet engaged in wholeheartedly. She probably leant herself more in the direction of, well...Jinkx.

Demure.

Maybe even so far as to say vanilla but definitely more sensual...more focused on the emotional aspects rather than the physical. Courtney could readily believe that Jinkx would be the type who's careful and considerate with her partners...taking their needs into account more than her own. That's why she would complement Sharon better than she would Ivy. She could easily see Sharon neglecting herself, maybe even for Jinkx's sake, in front of others but behind the scenes Jinkx would make sure that every gesture was repaid...no minute detail forgotten. Yin to Yang.

And that of course led Courtney's thoughts right back to Sharon...

The older blonde was the perfect balance between the younger women. She had Violet's dominate streak for sure but also a softer, gentler side like Jinkx's. That was what Courtney needed right now. Violet was too intense and Jinkx was too passive, but Sharon...Sharon was the perfect blend of each woman's best qualities...

Courtney could easily imagine Sharon pulling her into her lap and holding her there with very little effort as she marked Courtney like she was her own. She wanted that so badly right now. To feel safe and secured in someone else's hold even as they teased her to no end. And she had no doubt that Sharon wouldn't be one to tease. She'd wear that taunting smirk on her painted lips as she got Courtney so worked up that she could barely think in coherent sentences. Tease her as she stripped away the layers of clothing one by one all while removing none of her own...Placing her on the counter where anyone could see as they walked past the shop. Whispering filthy things into her ear, making her beg for any little touch as she drew her fingers across Courtney's inner thighs.

Why could she picture this so easily?

Willam would be almost the same...at first. She'd put up a tough front but once Courtney was at her mercy, she'd finally let down her guard. As her fingers slipped inside those taunts would melt into compliments as she brings the blonde closer to the edge. Maybe she would even call her 'princess'. But despite the change in tone, Courtney would still beg. She knows she wouldn't have to; Willam would never deny her anything but something in her would make her want to repeat all the things she wanted- _needed_ Willam to do to her. And she'd comply with every one. She'd fuck her nice and slow even though Courtney demanded she go faster...and she would, but not right away. She wanted the moment to last.

And Willam would watch her the entire time, taking in every little detail for future reference. Loving how she could tear apart calm and composed little Courtney so quickly...And then as she was teetering right on the edge and about to plunge into the depths, Willam would kiss her. She'd muffled the screams so no one else could hear them but her. They were hers alone to enjoy and she was greedy when it came to Courtney. She always had been and-

"Court, are you okay?" Jinkx asked with a thoroughly concerned tone. "You're looking a bit flushed."

Oh, for fuck's sake!

Daydreaming at work about _that_? Courtney had really outdone herself. And now two of those very women were starting to crowd in on her as she tried to calm herself down and recover from the embarrassment. There's not much else that could make this worse, or at least she hoped there wasn't.

"Do you need to lie down or drink some water?" Sharon asked anxiously as she placed a hand on Courtney's shaking shoulders. This was about the last thing she needed right now.

"I'm fine," she lied firmly, though her voice wavered just a tad as she added, "I'm just going to...to run to the bathroom real quick."

Before her cheeks could get any brighter, she bolted out of her chair and in the direction of the small restroom at the opposite end of the shop. It looked as though Sharon was about to follow after her for a brief moment but to Courtney's immense relief she stay within a few feet of the work benches with Jinkx at her side. Courtney had no clue what she would do if the older blonde had come after her...probably something stupid that would make her want to bury her head in shame...not that the little scene she made out there didn't inspire a similar feeling.

She was mentally kicking herself for falling so deep into that fantasy that it became noticeable to the others. At least they didn't seem to figure what exactly was going on but how was she going to cover for herself? Her mind felt like it was trapped in a maze coming upon dead end after dead end as she tried to recollect her thoughts. No matter what she tried to think of, her mind kept returning to the ache in her core that she knew she couldn't do anything to ease...at least not here. She was already ashamed of herself enough, she wasn't going to add 'getting herself off in the shop's bathroom' to that list.

No, she still had some self control. She could wait until she got home. All she had to do was make herself look presentable again, put up a good poker face for the rest of her shift, and then race back home to finish what she had started. And maybe even by then, the need would disappear...That could totally happen right?

*********

It didn't.

Not that Courtney really expected it to but a girl could hope.

The rest of her shift felt like pure torture between Jinkx's worried glances and Sharon constantly telling her to take it easy or even just to go home. Not that Courtney would leave them right before the next rush was due to arrive. She was determine to finish out her work day as she normally would but when the other two women slipped into their own versions of mother-mode? It was almost too much and Courtney often felt like she'd die of embarrassment before she got a chance to clock out. It was such a relief when Ivy came in early and Courtney could dash off to her apartment.

She knew she would need to take care of this quick; she was supposed to go out with Willam tonight and there was no way she was going to let any of these thoughts linger until then. She just needed to get off and that would be the end of it. Just because she daydreamt about Willam fucking her didn't mean she was attracted her. Of course not. She just hadn't gotten laid in awhile so of course her thoughts would drift towards the women she sees almost every day, Willam included.

When Courtney first burst into the apartment, she was overjoyed that it appeared to be empty. Lately Katya had been moving her study sessions to the library and every time she left, her book bag would be missing from it's usual place just below the coat rack. The moment Courtney walked through the door, that was the first thing she looked for. The fact that it was gone meant she could get down to business right away but that hope quickly died after she found the bag had been moved to just outside Katya's room and muffled music could be heard beyond the closed door. Well at least she wouldn't be able to hear Courtney...not she was intending to get that loud any way.

Like a girl on a mission, Courtney barricaded herself in room, making sure to lock the door for good measure. As Courtney had discovered very soon after Katya moved in; knocking and waiting for an answer seemed to be a foreign concept to her. She had practically no shame and closed doors meant nothing to the younger blonde. More than once Courtney had to yell at her to get out of the bathroom while she was showering because she just had to talk to her at that exact moment. If anything like that happened within the next few minutes she might just have to scream.

But no other sound filled the apartment aside from the soft rock filtering through the shared wall. And with that knowledge firmly in her mind Courtney allowed herself to strip off her clothes...well, everything but her bra, just in case...for what little that mattered. Digging amongst her drawers she quickly found the two objects she was looking for. Even before Katya moved in, Courtney always left anything related to her sex life tucked safely in the back corner of her bottom dresser drawer. Despite living alone for so long, she had a hidden fear someone would manage to find it and the anticipated shame caused her to bury it far out of sight. But now was not the time for subtlety...this needed to be taken care of immediately.

Normally, Courtney would take the time to tease herself; she knew the reward was always so much greater in the end if she did but today her fingers were not what she wanted. She needed something that would get the job done quickly and efficiently and thankfully she had just the item for that. Long ago, back when she had just moved into the city from out in the suburbs, a friend had jokingly given her a vibrator as housewarming gift...saying something along the lines of "Just in case it takes you while to find a real one." Courtney had played it off as best as she could (her cheeks were pink for several minutes after) but it was just a week or two before she mustered up the courage to try using it. She never had one before, always too embarrassed to go into a shop or even to order one online, but she was curious...And it was quite a life-changer. Not as good as the real thing but definitely easier than her digits.

Typically, she'd use a combination of both if she had the time but all she needed now was to get off. With so little of her usual teasing, it took a little extra time for her to feel comfortable with it inside her, even with extra lube, but once she turned it to the first setting and felt the soft pulsing kick in, she was able to relax and enjoy herself. She bit her lip as she slowly began to rock against the vibrator and pressed the button to the next setting. This particular model was incredibly basic, offering only 5 speeds of the steady vibrating setting and one of an alternating fast and slow sensations. Usually Courtney would hover between the 3rd and 4th speeds and that would be all she really needed to get off. The 5th setting sometimes just felt like a little too much to enjoy and the final option? Well, she never was really tempted to try it.

Quickly she became too used to the second speed and pressed the button once more to switch to the third. It finally felt like she was getting somewhere. Just a few more minutes of this and she could bring herself to edge, maybe she'll even dare to press the button one more time right before she's about to cum just to make it a little more intense...She'll just wait and see...But as she felt herself creeping closer, a very unwelcomed noised filled the room.

Her fucking phone!

Why hadn't she turned it off?

She didn't even need to look at the screen to know who was calling. Of course it would be Willam. The universe seemed to love to throw every little irritation her way today. Only because she knew the dirty blonde would keep calling until she picked up, she very reluctantly decided to answer the phone. She had a brief moment of debate as to whether or not she should pause the vibrator and stop all together but the need was too great. It wasn't that loud anyway, Willam wouldn't hear and what she doesn't know, won't hurt her, right?

Slightly breathless and mildly frustrated, Courtney asked, "Hey, what's up?"

"You tell me," Willam shot back. "Got a text from Sharon saying you weren't feeling well earlier. Want to tell me about that?"

Of course she would call about that. Courtney was a little surprised Sharon had gone that far but right now she was more annoyed than touched. She just wanted to get herself off in peace, couldn't she have a few minutes to do that?

Instead of groaning out loud like she was inclined to, Courtney simply gave a shaky laugh and replied, "Oh, _that_...I think it was just something I ate maybe...nothing to get worked up about."

Involuntarily, she squeezed her legs just a little bit tighter as she let out that small lie and like karma trying to punish her, that turned out to be quite a big mistake. The pressure was just enough to turn the vibrator to the next setting and the sudden change was more than enough to catch Courtney off guard. Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes crossed just slightly before she remembered she still had Willam on the line.

She missed part of what the other woman had said but managed to catch the very end of her response, "-nd if you're not feeling okay, you know you can call me. I would have come pick you up..."

Courtney almost let out a needy little whine at the vulnerability she heard in Willam's voice and quickly took notice of her heart beating faster in her chest. Pushing the feeling aside for now, Courtney vaguely inquired, "Yeah?"

There was a slight hint of defensiveness in Willam's tone as she reaffirmed, "Yeah...I would. Just tell me next time...Don't want to hear it from someone else."

"I will next time...Thanks, Bill," Courtney said fondly.

"Whatever," the dirty blonde replied all too quickly. It was easy for Courtney to tell she was embarrassed by the admission and right now she'd give anything to see that look on Willam again...it seems her fantasy Willam might be a little closer to reality than she thought...Willam probably would be as much of softie as Courtney had imagined her to be.

Wait, no. She was not going to start thinking about that again. There was nothing more between her and Willam. What's happening right now is just an unfortunate mix of horniness playing off of hearing Willam's softer side for once. That's it, Courtney firmly told herself.

To distract from the vibrating between her legs and the ache that was almost unbearable again, Courtney asked how Willam's day was going. The dirty blonde was all too eager to jump into a new topic, especially one concerning herself, and soon she was recounting all the little things that had happened during her shift so far.

As Courtney listened, she found herself lulled into a distracted state just by the sound of Willam's voice. Something about it was so provocative right now and soon her free hand was lazily trailing its way down towards her thighs. The guilt in the pit of her stomach screamed at her that this was so wrong; getting off as her best friend chatted away in her ear, but it was just that taboo that made this so enticing. When would she get this chance again?

Pressing the mute button, Courtney let out a quiet moan as drew her fingers along her folds and traced one softly against her clit. Everything down there felt so sensitive that even the lightest touch was driving her close to edge once more. Very slowly she rocked her hips against the vibrator, trying to find that one spot that would take her right to her limit. Her mind was growing hazy as Willam droned on and Courtney found herself imagining the dirty blonde in bed with her...with her fingers in place of the vibrator...drawing her closer and closer to her release...whispering right into her ear rather than through the cheap electronics in her phone. God, she needed another body with her.

But all too soon Willam announced she would have to end the call, none the wiser to what chaste little Courtney was actually doing on the other end.

"Sorry, my break's almost up. I need to get back to work..." Willam said apologetically. "You still there?"

Scrambling to turn the speaker back on, Courtney said hastily, "Yeah, sorry. Had you on mute, was just eating something."

"When aren't you?" the younger woman joked. "We still on for later though? We can put it off till you're feeling better..."

"I'm fine," Courtney promised as she choked down a broken moan.

Unconvinced, Willam proposed, "Why don't we just stay in tonight?...We can have another movie night...I'll even pick up some of that shitty wine you love so much."

Smiling to herself, the blonde agreed, "Yeah, that sounds fun. Text me when you're leaving, okay?"

"Will do. Alright, gotta run. I'll see you later!"

With that Willam ended the call and Courtney was free to fully immerse herself once more. She was getting so close she could taste it. Just another minute or two...But as she inched closer and closer, curiosity got the better of her...Why not try the last setting for once? It would probably be just enough to end it and if not she could always switch it back.

Daring to take a chance, she skipped right past the 5th setting and dove straight into the 6th. It was misleading at first...She was almost disappointed as it began with a speed even slower than the first option. Then suddenly it picked up the pace; it was just below her normal speed for about 20 seconds then it dropped once more...not a lot but still noticeable. Courtney could feel her body relaxing too much from the lack of stimulation then without warning, the pulsing kicked into high gear. It was so intense, she just barely managed to bite her lip in time to stop a desperate moan from slipping out. She was squirming in place, just close enough and about to go over when the speed dropped once more. Unable to stop herself, she let out a begging whine and almost choked on her own breath as pulsating quicken once more. This played out for over three minutes until she was nearly at the point of tears with how close she had gotten...Just one more strong pulse would be enough and she was long overdue.

As if on cue, it began and Courtney could herself being consumed entirely by the pleasure. Then all too quickly it began to die down again but not like before...the vibrating was weaker, not because of the setting...no, it was the batteries! The batteries were fucking dying! Why did it have to be now of all times? Couldn't they last just a few seconds longer?

She tried to switch the setting back to one of the steady pulses but it was too late. The batteries were almost completely dead and she had been so close! It wasn't fair!

Her fingers were in her hair ready to rip it out when she remembered the little box of batteries she kept in the kitchen drawer. Like a flash, she slid out the vibrator and threw on a robe before sprinting out to the kitchen. She must have looked like a madwoman as she frantically searched through the drawer for that stupid box. And when she finally found it, her hopes were dashed yet again. Just one was left! She needed two!

She knew that pack was full just the other week, where could the others-Katya!

Speed-walking back to the bedrooms, Courtney knocked on the younger woman's door feeling like a hot mess. To her credit it only took Katya a few seconds to appear but it felt like an eternity to Courtney. Seemingly unfazed or else not noticing her roommate's frazzled state, Katya asked the older woman what was wrong.

Trying her best to remain her usual polite self, Courtney asked, "The batteries in the drawer...did you use any of them recently?"

Katya nodded her head in affirmation but before she could comment any further, Courtney interrupted, "Could I borrow one of them real quick? Just for a few minutes! I'll get a new pack but I need two like right now...please."

Arching her eyebrow at the older woman's frantic speech, Katya beckoned her inside and walked towards her nightstand. Unabashedly, she opened the drawer to reveal quite an interesting collection of bedroom accessories. Courtney's stomach churned at the thought of Violet and Katya having used these before but she could worry about that later. She just needed her own equipment as soon as possible.

Rifling through the drawer Katya pulled out a seemingly random vibrator of her own and removed both of the batteries with an air of practice. Courtney's gaze dropped to one of the items entangled amongst the rest and could barely pull her eyes away even as Katya extended the batteries towards her.

"No rush," she teased with a wink as Courtney opened her hand to accept the pair of double As. Seems Katya knew full well what she was up to next door.

"Thanks," she muttered as her cheeks turned a fiery red and made her way towards the door.

To her dread, Katya called out for her just as she made it half across the room and very hesitantly she spun back around to face her roommate. Stepping forward, Katya asked sincerely, "Is that going to be enough?"

Awkwardly, Courtney clutched her hand around the batteries and dropped her gaze to the floor as she muttered, "Um...well..."

Katya stepped in front of her and placed a gentle hand to Courtney's flushed cheek, turning her head back to look at her. The expression she held was one of genuine concern and strangely enough, seemed to extend an offer. Courtney heard broken syllables and unintelligible sounds fall from her lips as Katya tilted her head inquiringly. She knew Courtney understood what she was proposing and waited patiently as the older woman tried to come up with a complete sentence. Very slowly, she leant forward and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Courtney's mouth. Almost immediately, Courtney felt her head shift involuntarily to brush her lips to Katya's before she had a chance to fully retreat. Taking that as a sign of encouragement, the younger blonde reiterated, "It's not going to mean anything...and it won't make things weird...just something we both need right now."

Taking in a shaky breath, Courtney nodded and pushed her lips back against her roommate's. They were cautious at first, still testing the waters and allowing the other woman ample opportunity to call it off. As soon as Courtney began to walk Katya backwards towards the bed, they both knew they weren't going to stop...not for anything.

Once the back of Katya's legs hit the mattress, a switch seemed to go off in Courtney's mind. She became much more deliberate in her movements, more sure of herself. She guided Katya down onto the edge of the bed, taking her place gradually in her lap as she laid claim to the younger woman's mouth. Katya broke the kiss with a slight laugh as she teased, "Mm, aggressive. I like it."

The older blonde flushed at the statement. This behavior was a bit out of character for her. Usually the only times she ever displayed this much dominance was when she chanced to take home a man who tended to be more on the inexperienced side, more shy. She'd provide the confidence for both of them as she showed him what to do. With women though? She'd only ever stayed passive, waiting for instructions because women were still more of mystery to her.

Brushing the pad of her thumb across Courtney's cheek, Katya traced her lips up the older woman's neck to her ear and let out a husky whisper, "Any requests? I'll try anything."

This caught her off guard, her wide-eyed staring proved that. She should have expected the offer, it was Katya after all. Explorative, unassuming Katya; seemingly willing to try anything for her partner's sake. Why not take a chance if it was being offered?

Courtney's hands shook as she rested them on Katya's shoulders while she tried to think of how to phrase her response. There was something she wanted to try...two things actually. The younger woman waited patiently until Courtney found the courage to whisper what she wanted. Without any judgment, she assured the woman in her lap, "I can do that."

She pressed one more brief kiss to Courtney's lips before picking her up and setting her down on the mattress beside her. She paced back to her nightstand and searched for the item Courtney had been eyeing before. The older blonde looked away out of embarrassment as Katya unashamedly pulled out the lime green strap on from the slightly cluttered mess in the drawer. At a quick glance, Courtney realized that it was both dual ended and just a tad bigger than what she had been using earlier.

She squirmed on the mattress trying unsuccessfully not to stare as Katya carefully began to strip off her clothes. Though she really wasn't wearing anything particularly special, the way she worked her body free from her clothing reminded Courtney very much of the delicate manner in which Katya would remove her costume on stage during her performances. She was both casual and showy; displaying skill but not enough to be intimidating. With surprising speed, something she must have acquired through much practice, Katya made quick work of arranging the harness around her hips and inserting her own end with a pleased sigh. Once the remote was securely clipped to the side, she turned her attention back to Courtney who now was licking her lips as she tried not to be overwhelmed by the sight in front of her.

If Courtney's mouth hadn't been so dry, she almost would have giggled at how comical the ensemble looked. The unnatural color only made it look a little more ridiculous as Katya took her place in front of her once more. Still something was so intriguing about it, she hadn't realized she was staring so much until she felt the younger woman tilting her chin up to connect their gaze.

"Still alright to continue?" she asked without a hint of pressure in her voice.

Courtney nodded absently, allowing their lips to pass over one another before Katya inquired softly, "Can I take this off?" as she toyed with the collar of Courtney's robe.

Suddenly she felt both over and under dressed. The thin robe covered most of her body but underneath she only had her bra. Her cheeks filled with color from her self-consciousness as she untied the waistband and began to shrug off the remaining fabric. As Katya helped pull it the rest of the way off, Courtney tried to give her a fair warning, "I'm not really wearing much else under-"

A soft gasp escaped from the younger blonde before Courtney was able to finished her sentence. She cast a quick glance to Katya only to be surprised to find a very light pink tinting her cheeks as her eyes raked down Courtney's body. She knew she was well toned and was quite used to how men would look at her in bed but Katya's stare...it made her feel beautiful...and nervous. Her mind was quick to remind her of all of the flaws she felt she had but Katya's gaze never showed any sign of finding any. She simply drank in the sight before her for a minute before reclaiming Courtney's lips for a passionate kiss.

As the two worked their way further back onto the mattress, Katya's fingertips traced over all of the soft, delicate curves that laid below her. Though Courtney knew this wasn't going to mean anything further afterwards, she still had an idea that this moment was always going to hold a special place in her memory. Very thoroughly, Katya kissed her way down Courtney's neck, pausing for a moment to assist in taking off the final piece of clothing separating them. Tossing the bra over the edge of the bed, Katya carefully took one nipple into her mouth as her thumb toyed with the other.

An unwilling mewl clawed its way from Courtney's throat and filled Katya's ears. She was very confident of her talent in bed but Courtney's reactions only helped to reassure her of that. The noises that escaped from the older woman were like music encouraging her to do everything she could for this beautiful woman in front her. Though hesitant, Courtney tried to return the gestures quite a few times but Katya pushed her hands away every single time.

"Don't worry about me, just want to take care you right now," she assured the blonde below her. "Just enjoy being a pillow princess tonight."

Courtney whined softly at the one word. That was the second part of what she had asked from Katya for this session. She knew she was treading into dangerous territory with this request but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment...Not when Katya was so willing to comply. She'll figure out what it means later, for now she was just going to listen to Katya and enjoy everything she was offering.

The foreplay went on for several minutes, Katya teasing her nipples, cupping her breasts, slowly trailing her fingertips and lips down every inch of skin except for one area. Courtney was a mess...she looked it and she felt it. What she had experienced in her own room was nothing compared to how Katya had worked her up. Finally after all that torture, the younger blonde conceded to touch Courtney where she desperately needed it. Katya's fingers felt so good inside her that she didn't want to wait any longer to get to the main course. But Katya had quite a teasing streak, one she probably exercised often with Violet. She would brush oh so gently against Courtney's g-spot but not enough to give her all of the satisfaction. Her folds were slick as Katya worked her fingers in and out, pausing every so often to tease her clit as the blonde shuddered beneath her.

Her mind felt like it had been put through a sieve before Katya gave in to her pleading for more. The younger woman poured an extra dose of lubricant into her hand for good measure and spread it along the length that was soon to be inserted. Getting herself into position, Katya placed the vibrator outside Courtney's entrance and leant down close to Courtney's ear. Feeling the woman trembling in anticipation of what was to come, she whispered, "Shh, don't worry. Gonna go slow."

Sucking softly at the skin below Courtney's jawline, Katya began to push in with an extreme amount of care. Once it was fully inside of her, the blonde let out a sigh of satisfaction. This was just what she needed. It wasn't quite like the real thing but it was close enough.

Giving her partner enough time to get comfortable, Katya left soft nips and licks along Courtney's neck and shoulders. As soon her breathing was in check, Katya said, "I'm gonna turn it on now, okay?"

Courtney nodded, not quite knowing what to expect but the second she felt the vibrator whirring to life, her arms clutched tightly around the younger woman's back. The initial setting was already intense even disregarding her current overstimulated state. If this was what Katya and Violet had been using before, it was no wonder the brunette could barely keep her voice down. Courtney was just barely able to bite back a scream that would have rivaled one of Violet's.

"Like that, princess?" Katya asked with a smirk.

Frantically nodding her head, Courtney found she couldn't make any other verbal response aside from a desperate, low moan. Again Katya waited a few seconds to allow Courtney to get used to the feeling before beginning to move. The pace was slow at first but gradually she built up a steady rhythm as the older blonde began to completely lose it. She was quite used to the feeling by now, knowing how to move so that she enjoys the sensations as much as her partner, but being that this was her first time with Courtney; she did her best to be careful and in tune with her reactions.

There certainly wasn't any lack of enjoyment on Courtney's end; her eyes watered in pleasure as her legs wrapped tightly around Katya's waist. A pair of hands found their way to her hips, helping to accentuate the steady thrusts. With each passing second Courtney found herself creeping closer and closer to her elusive orgasm. She felt her fingers curl themselves into the long locks above her, ignoring the way they shifted into a dirty blonde in her mind. She was just so close that she didn't care how she achieved it, just that she did as soon as possible. It only took a few more strokes before she was calling out a warning and closed her eyes tightly as she pretended Willam was the one whispering in her, "That's it, princess. Let me see what pretty face you'll make."

Courtney had no idea how long her eyes stayed shut as she rode out her long awaited orgasm. All she knew was that she finally got her release and a look at Katya confirmed she had as well. The younger blonde was panting heavily as she struggled to keep her shaking body from collapsing on top of her partner. As gently as she could manage, she withdrew from inside Courtney and removed the harness with absolutely none of the finesse she had when first putting it on.

Completely satisfied, Courtney found herself curling into Katya's warm body nearly the second she rolled off to the empty space on the mattress. She felt like she was finally able to thinking clearly for the first time since early that day. A quick examination of her feelings assured her that despite Sharon appearing in her original daydream; she had absolutely no romantic feelings for the other woman...Willam though...that was a different story. Somewhere deep in her core she felt a twinge of guilt for thinking about the other woman in such a way. She wasn't sure if she would be able to face her later tonight...Perhaps she should call it off saying she suddenly began feeling worse...But what if Willam tried coming over to take care of her? Courtney really wouldn't put it past her at this point.

She was almost groaning out loud when Katya interrupted her thoughts. With a teasing glint in her eyes, she asked very seriously, "So...who were you thinking of?"

Courtney's cheeks turned a bright red as she replied defensively, "What makes you ask?"

Smirking, the younger woman stated, "Well, it wasn't _my_ name you were screaming...'Bill' I think it was?"

A surge of shame ran through Courtney as she buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. Very muffled, she started to apologize, "Oh, Kat! I'm so sorry, I-"

"Don't worry about it," Katya interrupted lightly as she ran her hand comfortingly over the blonde's arm, "I wasn't exactly thinking of you the entire time either..."

Lifting her head up, Courtney questioned cautiously, "Violet?"

To her surprise Katya shook her head and replied with a doleful smile, "No...but I'll tell you mine if you tell me about yours."

Very reluctantly, the older blonde admitted in a muttered tone, "Willam."

"Who's he?"

Swallowing back her nerves, Courtney corrected her roommate, "...She."

Katya's eye went wide with surprise as she exclaimed with a joyful grin, "Courtney! I didn't know you actually swung that way!"

"Wha-How?" Courtney asked flabbergasted, "You've been flirting with me pretty much since we met! I thought you knew."

"No, I was just doing that as a joke! You always played it off so I thought you knew I wasn't being serious," the younger blonde explained. Facepalming herself, she added in, "Oh, God, if I had known you actually-"

"You'd have tried harder," Courtney accused with a disapproving stare.

"Damn right! No, seriously though, I'd never seen you take an interest in a woman before, so I just...assumed."

Shrugging her shoulders, Courtney stated defensively, "Well, it's not really common for me but..."

"This one's special?" Katya suggested with a sympathetic smile.

"Looks like it," the blonde admitted a bit dejectedly.

"Why don't you make a move then?"

Struggling to come up with an answer, Courtney mumbled, "I...well...She's..."

"Straight?" Katya guessed as her brows knit together in concern.

"No, definitely not straight," the older woman explained pessimistically, "I'm just...not really her type."

"How do you know?"

"...Cause I've seen who she's been with...who she's taken home from the clubs..." Courtney stated gloomily. "Do you know Violet's business partner? Sharon?"

With a secretive smile, Katya replied, "I've heard _of_ her...Violet loves to get her worked up. She used to always ask me for jokes to annoy her with."

"Oh, God, really?" Courtney laughed out.

"Yep. But what about her?"

"Well, she and Willam...you know...they had a bit of thing, like you and Violet, until Sharon starting falling for someone else...But that's Willam's type...more experienced, I guess. Edgier, you know?"

Katya let out a noise of understanding and didn't press any further. Still feeling a bit embarrassed from her admission, she quickly changed the subject to inquire, "Now tell me about yours."

"Trixie," Katya replied simply.

Shaking her head, Courtney stated confusedly, "Never met her."

"Well, you have actually...kind of."

Courtney tilted her head in further confusion as she tried to think of when she might have met this mystery woman. Seeing her roommate still coming up empty, Katya reminded her, "Remember when you picked me up from the library last week? She was working there. One of the student employees...The blonde one..."

"Oh, I remem-wait..." Courtney trailed off as the memories from that day began to form in her mind. "Wasn't she the one glaring at you the entire time?"

"And you too!" Katya shot back defensively.

Brows furrowed, the older blonde asked, "Why her?"

"She's nice..." Katya said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Really?" Courtney asked in disbelief. From what she remembered of this woman, 'nice' seemed to be a bit of stretch.

"She is!" Katya insisted. "Last semester, you remember when I got really sick, right? Like I missed classes for almost a week?"

Courtney nodded, recollecting that event very well. At the time they were unsure if it was the flu or food poisoning but either way Katya had been sick to her stomach for several days. She had been forced to miss pretty much all of her performances that week as well as her classes, including a small test. It was only with the help of a doctor's note that she was able to reschedule that examination for when she was feeling better.

Continuing on with her explanation, Katya stated emphatically, "She was the one that helped me catch up for some of them...The first day after I came back, I was completely lost...I was almost ready to run to the registrar's office to drop most of them cause I couldn't think of a way that I could cover everything I missed. But she pulled me aside after our last class and offered to help...No else did...The professors didn't care, but Trixie did. Even when I annoyed her during the tutoring sessions, she stayed. Sure, she banged her head on the desk a few times but she didn't give up on me. "

"Kat..." Courtney fawned softly. "That's actually really sweet of her...Had you even talked before that?"

"Well, sort of...We worked on a project for another Lit. class before...We have similar majors so our classes overlap sometimes," Katya mentioned vaguely.

Courtney could tell that there was more to the story than what Katya let on. With a little probing, she finally admitted, "We worked together in the library after her shift a few times to get the outline done...one time when she finished early, she asked if I wanted to come back to her apartment instead..."

"And what happened?" Courtney asked suspiciously.

Shamefully, Katya was forced to confess, "I got nervous...and ended up really annoying her. She kicked me out of her building after about an hour. She hasn't invited me back since then and she's never accepted my offer to come over...she usually just looks a little terrified when I ask...but we still talk though!...Like she's brought coffee over when I'm staying late to study or sometimes she'll sit with me when she's taking a break!...But she kicks me out of the library if I start to piss her off."

"What is it that you do exactly that makes her so upset?"

"She doesn't really like it when I tell those corny jokes...or when I call her Tracy...or Barbara...Barbie...or use that voice she hates."

Knowing she'll regret it soon after, Courtney asked, "How often do you do that?"

"Pretty much every week?" Katya answered sheepishly.

Groaning, Courtney scolded, "Katya! No wonder she glares at you!"

"What?" Katya exclaimed defensively, "That's pretty much how I always flirt; relentless harassment until they give in or get a restraining order and she hasn't done either yet so I'm still good to go."

Courtney's hand immediately shot up to rub at her temples as she let out a sigh of exasperation.

Very proudly, Katya declared, "Her icy stare melted my heart."

"That's an...oxymoron, Kat," the older blonde mentioned blankly.

"Just like me!"

Another sigh fell from Courtney's lips as she pushed herself further into Katya's arms and thought about both of their seemingly helpless situations. Sadly, she commented, "We're a mess, huh?"

"Just a bit," Katya agreed. "...I really kind of want to ask her out though..."

"What's stopping you? _She's_ not straight, right?"

"No," Katya laughed, "I know she's not...She's loud and proud...Well, maybe not as loud as I am but...she doesn't keep it a secret. She brought it up while we were studying together..."

Already guessing the answer, Courtney asked, "Mixed signals then?"

"Very...I just...really don't get her. She's kind of like a frozen lake or something...all icy on top but you _know_ there's life underneath. Sometimes I feel like I'm ice fishing; I keep making holes and finding amazing things below the surface but then everything just freezes up again and I have to start over...I don't really know what to do..."

"Well, do you think she might like you, too?"

"Maybe?" Katya mumbled unsurely, "She keeps coming back, so..."

After thinking to herself for a moment, Courtney questioned, "Have you tried finding out? Besides what you call 'flirting'?"

"No..." Katya trailed off with unhappy curl on her lips, "I...I don't want to read into it too much and be wrong, you know? I really like her, even if she's just a friend...I don't want to screw that up."

Nodding her head understandingly, Courtney gave a noise of empathy. She was quite familiar with that feeling and she'd seen plenty of other friends experiencing that as well. Maybe even Sharon was, too...

The pair remained silent for a few moments but Courtney was still thinking about Katya's situation. She wanted to help, she just wished she knew of way for them to gently broach the subject without being too obvious and-Jinkx!

Her bouquets would be perfect for this! That's what they had been created for originally so why not revive that again? And it'd be so romantic too!

Courtney could hardly contain a squeal of joy as she rotated in Katya's grasp to flash her a bright smile.

"I've got just the thing!" she announced proudly.

With a look of tentative curiosity, Katya asked what she had meant. Quickly, the older blonde explained how Jinkx had taken to preparing bouquets with personalized meanings. Each one was crafted based on each customer's unique situation. If anyone could help Katya create an arrangement with just the right message; it'd be Jinkx. Although Katya agreed that it sounded like a good idea, she was reluctant to involve someone else. Why couldn't Courtney make the bouquet instead?

"Jinkx really is the best at it," she asserted to the younger woman, "She understands the meanings a lot more than Ivy or I would. And she's really sweet too. You'd like her, promise."

Still Katya was unsure. She really would prefer if she only had to discuss this with close friends. It wasn't exactly easy for her to talk about this sort of thing but Courtney always made her feel comfortable...Talking about it with a stranger just seemed like it would be too awkward.

"Why don't you think about it for awhile?" Courtney suggested as she stole a quick glance to the alarm clock on the nightstand. Pushing herself from the bed, she began to collect her robe and bra while adding in, "I'm gonna be heading out in a bit but we can talk about it again tomorrow, okay?"

With a small grateful smile, Katya nodded her head and made to clean up her own part of the mess. She almost missed how close Courtney was to her until she turned around to find herself face to face with the older woman. She had a very light tint on her cheeks as the Aussie cupped her face and pressed a quick peck to her lips. Almost shyly, Courtney whispered, "And thank you...for helping me...It was fun."

"We could go another round," Katya offered with a teasing waggle of her eyebrows.

Rolling her eyes, Courtney politely declined but still she leant in for one final kiss.

"We'll talk more later, alright?"

That night Courtney found her way over to Willam's apartment and as promised a bottle of her 'shitty' wine was waiting for her on the counter. Although Willam would never admit it if asked, Courtney noticed that she was paying particularly close attention to her as the night went on. She made casual inquiries as to how she was feeling, making sure she ate something along with the wine, even allowing Courtney to pick most of the movies. It was so thoughtful but despite Willam's best intentions, the gestures only left Courtney feeling more and more guilty as the night went on. But still a gradual warmth filled her chest until she was almost to the point of blushing as Willam casually fixed some flyaway strands of hair. All she could bring herself to do was mumble a quick thanks and turn her head back to the screen as she took another deep sip from her wine glass.

Before either woman could recognize their fatigue, they fell asleep that night tangled up in one another on the couch. Courtney's head rested on Willam's stomach while her arms were wrapped snugly around the other woman's waist and Willam herself had her legs hooked loosely around Courtney's and one arm draped across the blonde's midsection. Neither of their positions were elegant nor entirely comfortable but each was more than satisfied with the sight they woke up to the next morning.

***********

A few days later Katya asked Courtney to come with her to 'Pines and Needles'. After talking things through with Violet, Katya relented and decided to have a bouquet prepared by Jinkx. If both of her close friends were recommending this woman, then she must be good right? They opted to head over on Courtney's day off during the time when she knew there wouldn't be many customers in the shop. She didn't want Katya to feel any more discomfort than what she was already experiencing. After knowing the younger woman for so long, she could tell that a hint of her nerves were starting to show as they made their way towards the shop.

She was deflecting from her own situation by trying to encourage Courtney to pursue her own romantic interest. Every comment created a queasy little lurch in her stomach as her shame from earlier still had not abated. If anything it had become quite a constant in her life the last few days. Every time she saw Willam, the dirty blonde would be doing something so innocent and suddenly Courtney's mind would flash back to what she had done...especially with Katya. The main problem was...she kind of wanted to do it again. She even began having lazy daydreams about the other girl as she laid in bed. None of these were sexual in nature, all just simple domestic things; kissing her, laying wrapped up together on the couch, or just cooking together. Almost all of these were things she's done in one form or another with Willam, aside from kissing, but rather than as friends, she wanted there to be more.

And Katya could certainly recognize that her feelings had grown. She was now trying to convince Courtney to make a similar move and take a chance like she was doing...but Courtney could never do that...There was no way someone like Willam could be interested in her...They just weren't compatible in that way.

It was a relief when the shop's door came into view. Courtney would finally have a break from Katya's well-intentioned but misguided efforts and-Fuck!

Why was Willam here?

She hardly ever came around the shop unless Courtney was working! Why'd she have to be here today of all days? If Katya realizes who this was, who'd know what she'd do to tease Courtney?

Studiously ignoring the other woman for the time being, she returned Sharon's greeting and strictly kept her eyes away from Willam as soon as the dirty blonde spun around. While she explained why she was here to her coworkers, she heard the faint drumming of fingernails against the work table. Doing her best to resist the temptation, she refused to look anywhere close to that direction. She certainly didn't miss how Jinkx's eyes cut to Willam and she actually wouldn't be surprised if Katya had picked up on it as well.

Trying to keep things moving, Courtney began to introduce her roommate but that was when the fiasco started. Courtney had no idea what possessed Katya to throw out that fake Russian accent. She could hardly believe her ears as she heard the other woman repeating her full name in probably one of her worst attempts yet at sounding like a native Russian. One look at Jinkx and Courtney could tell the younger woman had no clue what to make of the person in front of her, especially as Katya broke what little illusion there was by repeating her nickname in a perfect American accent.

Perhaps this wasn't as good of an idea as she thought...

Sharon was having none of it and quickly diverted Katya's attention away from her increasingly frazzled looking assistant. This whole thing had definitely been a mistake, Courtney realized. She ought to have just come in when she knew Violet was working. Things would have gone so much smoother. The older blonde could barely contain her shock as Katya began _flirting_ with her boss!

What was wrong with her?

An involuntary glance towards Willam informed her that the younger woman well on her way to becoming thoroughly annoyed. She was all but scowling as the scene unfolded in front of her and Courtney had a sinking feeling that things were not going to improve any time soon. Trying to reign in her roommate's shameless behavior, Courtney did her best to scold her and of course it backfired almost immediately. As much as she wanted to be angry, the smile sent her way had completely blindsided her and her glare ended up looking quite mollified.

Courtney could sense that Willam was steadily becoming more and more ticked off but at least Katya's attention had been taken off of Sharon and Jinkx. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist as Katya beamed, "Don't worry, принцесса; you're still my favorite."

That was the final straw for Willam. That was _her_ pet name and Courtney knew it. She was absolutely furious as she openly glared at the two women. Courtney could feel her cheeks burning as her sight connected with Willam's for the first time that day. And Katya still had no fucking clue. She seemed to be happily oblivious to growing tension in the room, even smiling proudly as Sharon unlovingly concluded the nature of her relationship to her business partner. It seems Sharon's best solution for dealing with this young woman was to ignore her completely and focus her questioning on Courtney.

Eager to reclaim control of the situation, Courtney quickly explained Katya's reason for their visit despite Sharon's snarky remarks. As the older woman sauntered up to the front counter to prepare the bill, the real interrogation with Willam began. She wasn't even trying to hide the hostility on her voice as she asked, "I think it's safe to assume this _isn't_ for Violet?"

To her credit, Katya did appear to be more somber as she answered Willam's questions. Though Katya hadn't talked with her about it, Courtney felt the issue was probably bit of sensitive spot for her. She was quite attached to Violet, their continual efforts to hang out were proof of that, but it still must have been difficult for her to break the news to the younger woman despite the casual nature of their relationship. And having a stranger butting into her private affairs was enough to put anyone on edge.

Willam might have thought she was defending her friend's interest but she was absolutely crossing a line in Courtney's mind. She tried to subtly tell the dirty blonde that she needed to lay off but Willam was not backing down. Her aggressive attitude was quickly working on Courtney's nerves, particularly as she noticed how uncomfortable Katya was becoming under Willam's intense glare. Not wanting to escalate the situation any further, at least in front of the others, Courtney asked Willam to accompany her to the back...though admittedly it came out as less of a request and more of a demand.

The dirty blonde seemed inclined to refuse but with a flippant shrug of her shoulders, she agreed to follow Courtney to the break room. She tried her best to remain calm as they walked together silently but the more she thought about Willam's behavior; the more enraged she became. Willam had absolutely no call to be so rude to someone she's never met before, especially considering that she probably wasn't even fully aware of the exact nature of Katya and Violet's relationship.

Once inside the room, Courtney found herself unable to maintain her composure. Sounding far harsher than she meant it to, she snapped at Willam, "Mind telling me what the hell your problem was out there?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," the dirty blonde replied in a huff.

"Don't give me that bullshit," she accused, eyes narrowing further. "Why are you acting like such a bitch to Katya? You don't even know her!"

"Who's fault is that, _princess_?" Willam spat back bitterly. Her body was shaking with anger as the final word rolled off her tongue. Courtney didn't feel much better; mixed in with her own fury was a heavy dose of guilt. She _had_ kept Willam away from Katya...actively. And it seems she was quite right to given how this meeting has gone.

Ignoring the pink slowly consuming her face, Courtney stated firmly, "Katya and Violet's relationship is _none_ of your business. You need to stay out of it."

Scoffing, Willam quickly shot back, "Oh, that's fucking rich coming from you! That's why you brought her here after all, wasn't it? So you could fuck around in her relationship since I wouldn't let you near Sharon's?"

"That's not what this is about and you-"

"What are you going to do when Katya drops this one, huh?" Willam barked at her. "Pick out the next victim for her? You gonna find her next fuck buddy? _Be_ it?"

At this point Courtney's face felt like it was on fire as she stood shell-shocked and Willam's expression mutated into one of horrified anger and betrayal.

"You _have_!" she accused in a hoarse whisper. Her voice cracking was not something Courtney would ever forget as she continued on with her ranting, "That's why you let her move in, isn't it? God, I can't fucking believe you!"

Pushing aside her own shame, the blonde shouted defensively, "Who I sleep with is _none_ of your business!"

"It is when Violet's involved!"

"Do _I_ go turning up my nose at who I've seen you take home?" she demanded.

Scowling, Willam snapped back, "The fuck is _that_ supposed to mean?"  
  
"I've seen how low your standards are!" Courtney declared unkindly. She was really going for a low blow but she couldn't stop herself any more as her frustration took over. "Flirting with anyone that'll look your way for more than a minute! Anyone who'll buy you a drink-"

"Like you're fucking one to talk," the younger woman yelled over her. "Your head is so far up your own ass you never even _notice_ who's looking at you. No wonder you keep going home alone!"

"Fuck you! How can I leave with anyone when you're always dragging me back to your place?!?"

"Oh, so now you're blaming me cause you can't get laid?" she asked in mocking disbelief. "I'm not stopping you from doing anything! You're always the one running after me and do I ever turn you away? No!"

"You don't want me around? Fine!" Courtney spat out as she marched towards the store front. "I'm happy to leave you alone. We'll both be better off!"

Following hotly on her heels, Willam shook her head and called after her, "Oh, no! You are _not_ getting out of this that easily. We are not done talking about this!"

"Yes, we ar-Katya!" Courtney scolded as she found Katya teasing Sharon as she stormed across the room muttering something about a drink. This was the last fucking thing she needed!

Immediately the young blonde choked back a guilty swallow as she caught sight of Courtney's pissed off expression. What had she been doing to these poor women while Courtney was away? It had barely been five minutes that she'd been in the back, how had she managed to so thoroughly harass Sharon in such a short amount of time? At least she had the good grace to look ashamed of herself as Courtney rejoined her at the work benches.

Turning back for a final look to see if Willam was still trailing behind her, Courtney felt her heart break as she watched Sharon leading the dirty blonde to her apartment with her hand resting on her lower back. Tears were stinging at the corner of her eyes as she heard Katya rambling off a few more puns she had saved up. Shooting her an intense glare, Katya swiftly cut herself off mid-sentence, something about 'I'm still rooting for you' or similar, but Courtney could tell she was dying to get one more joke in.

Reluctantly, she consented with a long-suffering tone, "...Last one."

Running a soothing hand over her roommate's back, Katya offered a consoling smile and said, "I'll leaf it alone."

Both her and Jinkx were unable to contain a groan but it finally seemed as though Katya had calmed down, as much as possible for her that is. The rest of their time there was fairly uneventful to Courtney's immense relief. Her mind was still bogged down as she replayed her argument with Willam on a continuous loop. A few times she found herself spacing out as her thoughts dove into all the different directions their conversation had gone. She hated to admit it but Willam was right on a few things; it was entirely by her own doing that this unfortunate event had been Willam's first time meeting Katya, as was the nights she spent alone. Her interest in sleeping with other people had faded to a degree, enough that she supposed it became apparent to Willam. She found she just wasn't as into hooking up as often as she had been previously, preferring instead to just spend time with Willam. That was why she never made any objections to when they'd leave a club early and crash at her place.

When the bouquet was finally finished, she made sure to thank Jinkx repeatedly for helping Katya. She truly hoped this would help spark a genuine relationship for the younger woman. She really seemed to like this girl and Katya certainly deserved that happiness, despite Willam's unfair assumptions about her. As they drove to Katya's campus to drop off the flowers at the library, Courtney found herself watching the young woman holding onto the vase as though it were the most sacred object in the world. It seemed like all of her hopes were contained in this one small clutch of plants and Courtney couldn't help but to feel nervous for how it might be received.

She offered to walk into the building with Katya, but she was determined to do it alone. Courtney accepted her resolution and promised to wait in the car for her. Almost 20 minutes passed by with Courtney feeling ever anxious as to what was taking so long. Had her courage faded before she was able to talk to Trixie? Was she just standing inside the door too paralyzed to move? Or maybe Trixie rejected her and she was now sobbing in the bathroom somewhere.

Finding all the possibilities to be too much, Courtney resolved to wait another 10 minutes before she would storm into the library in search of her roommate. After another five minutes or so Katya emerged from the building with a jubilant smile on her face and Courtney released an audible sigh. Seems things had gone well after all. Katya could hardly contain her grin as she exclaimed, "Trixie loved it! I'd never seen her smile like that before."

Very much relieved, Courtney drove them home and allowed her thoughts to return to the events in the shop. Before Katya could disappear into her room, Courtney decided to ask what exactly had happened while she with Sharon and Jinkx. She knew Katya had a penchant for bad jokes, especially to distract from her own anxiety, but it was never quite that bad.

With a sheepish grin, the young woman admitted, "When I told Violet I was going to the shop...well, she asked me to try out my best material for Sharon. Said she wanted a little payback for all the legwork she had to do hunting down suppliers in her free time, whatever that means."

"Oh, my God," Courtney laughed. Of course Violet would arrange for someone to annoy Sharon while she was off. How could Courtney expect anything less from her at this point?

Courtney's chuckling seemed perfectly controlled at first but then out of nowhere it suddenly broke off with a choked noise and her mind flashed from Violet to Willam. Before she could even process the change, tears began streaming down her face as a sob ripped through her body. Katya's grin instantly vanished as she pulled the older woman into her arms and guided her to sit down on the couch. It felt like everything having to do with Willam hit her all at once and she was helpless to stop herself from breaking down in her roommate's grasp. She was pissed at herself for being so pathetic, for getting into that stupid fight, and most of all for developing this stupid infatuation with her friend...maybe even her former friend.

She wasn't sure if they could come back from this, not after what she had said.

Katya rubbed her hands along Courtney's back as she continued to cry about her hopeless situation. She appreciated how Katya didn't try to rush her talk, not that she would have gotten an intelligible answer anyway. Minutes later after the tears finally slowed and she felt like she could breathe again, Katya inquired gently, "The fight?"

Courtney nodded her head sadly, burying her face in roommate's hair as another tremor passed through her. Softly, the younger woman asked, "Do you want to talk about it now?"

The Aussie shook her head; 'No.'

"Later?"

Nodding, Courtney let out an unhappy noise of confirmation.

"Okay," Katya agreed, "Whenever you're ready, I'll be here."

"Thanks," the older blonde mumbled as she fought to keep her voice from breaking. "Can we lay here for just a bit?"

"As long as you need," Katya assured her. "I'm not going anywhere."

***********

And later that night they did talk. Courtney fought back a fresh onslaught of tears but she made it through without falling apart again. Katya listened patiently as the Aussie vented about everything from the fight itself to how fucking miserable she was already. She and Willam had made plans earlier to hang out tonight but there was absolutely no way she was even going to attempt to keep them. As upset as she was with herself, she still fucking pissed at Willam. Courtney wondered aloud why Katya wasn't upset over her baseless assumptions as well.

Giving her roommate an understanding smile, the younger woman informed her, "I don't think she's really all that pissed off at me, at least not entirely...When Violet hears what happened, she'll talk to her."

"There really wasn't anything more between you two, right? Willam seemed pretty convinced Violet, you know...really liked you."

Another reassuring smile was sent her way as Katya set the record straight, "There wasn't. All we were doing was just having a bit of fun. Vi's got her own interests and I've got mine, we just liked exploring them with each other. It was comfortable. We tried dating for like a week but it was just...weird. We're not really compatible in that way. That's why we're better off as friends."

Courtney nodded her head and remained silent, finding she was just a bit happier knowing that her own understanding of their relationship wasn't incorrect. Still though, she hurt...deep in her chest there was an ache and she knew exactly why. "I miss her," she admitted as a few stray tears began to fall.

"I know," Katya whispered. "Come here."

And with that, Courtney buried herself in Katya's arms for the second time that night as silent tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

More than a week passed before Courtney spoke to or even saw Willam again. The circumstances that led to their meeting were entirely orchestrated by Katya and Violet. For the past few nights, if Courtney could bring herself to go to a club, she made sure it was one well outside the city and certainly one she and Willam had never been to before. It was a hassle sometimes and almost not worth the effort because she still had to keep herself sober enough to drive home but as long as it minimized the chances of seeing the dirty blonde, she would gladly continue this behavior. One of those nights, Katya managed to convince Courtney to come to her and Violet's show. She argued it had been quite awhile since the last one and maybe even a change of scenery would be good for her. Courtney told Katya that morning she'd think about it while at work though she was feeling more inclined to stay in that night.

What sealed the deal for her attendance was actually Violet casually inquiring if she would be making another appearance tonight. Her smile and tone were so disarming that Courtney forgot for a moment who she was talking to. Violet could be so charming when she wanted to, it was probably how she always managed to find the best deals with the shop's suppliers. Looking back, Violet's gentle probing probably should have been a tip-off for Courtney that the pair had something planned.

The realization that the two could possibly be working together only hit her as she allowed them to escort her back to the dressing rooms on the basis of wanting to talk. It was hardly a surprise to find Willam already sitting on the couch, shooting up from her seat the second she saw Courtney. The pair glared at each other once more but before either could make a move to leave, Courtney found herself pushed inside the room, courtesy of Katya, and the door was quickly shut.

"Talk!" Violet commanded. "We're not letting you out until you do!"

And they probably wouldn't, Courtney thought bitterly. Her eyes glanced to the window in a half-serious contemplation of escaping but she doubted she could slip out gracefully, at least not while she was unsure of what the window opened up to.

Begrudgingly, she sat herself down on a lone folding chair away from Willam and crossed her arms over her chest. Willam herself flopped down on the couch in a huff, refusing to look anywhere near Courtney's side of the room. Neither woman spoke for the longest time but Courtney was glad in a sick sort of way just to see Willam again. Every so often she stole a glance or two until finally their eyes connected with a look of shared guilt. Each broke the contact after a few seconds but like gluttons for punishment, they found their gaze drifting back towards one another.

To Courtney's astonishment, Willam seemed just as unhappy as she was. It looked as if a part of her was longing to say something but pride forced her to bite her tongue. Courtney played with the rings on her fingers for a few seconds before deciding to swallow back her fear and speak first. Her voice came out weak and wavering as she whispered, "Bill?"

Willam head instantly shot up and she stared wide-eyed at the blonde, waiting for her to speak. Courtney's heart felt like it leapt to her throat as she apologized, "I'm sorry."

Just a second passed before Willam was off the couch making her way to Courtney. Meeting her halfway, the pair stopped within a foot of each other unsure of what to do next. Willam made the first move and pulled Courtney into her arms. Her hands clutched desperately at Courtney's back, a silent indicator of just how much she missed her friend. Understanding the meaning behind the gesture, Courtney's hand found its way to Willam's waist as the other ran its fingers comfortingly through her friend's dirty blonde curls. Softly, she murmured, "I missed you, too."

Willam just nodded, her body shaking just slightly, as she confessed quietly, "'m sorry. I didn't mean it before."

"Hey, its okay. We both crossed a line."

"A couple," the dirty blonde agreed. "Can we just...go get some drinks and forget about this?"

"Sure," Courtney replied amicably. "There's a pretty good bar downstairs after all."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i didn't realize just how long that last chapter was until after it was posted...the app i use to store my fics is just one long running page with barely a scroll bar so i never really get a good idea of the length of the chapter until its posted on one site or another. this chapter, and probably the next witney-centric one as well, are gonna be shorter than normal just for the sake of the cliffhanger and because i suspect the final two chapters might end up a bit lengthy. but they'll be cute and happy, i guarantee that.  
> the next fic to be posted will be the AAA Girls fic and it shouldn't take more than two weeks before its up (its about 95% all planned and the first half is about 60% written so far). on or about Christmas/the 25th will be my slightly holiday themed fic featuring an odd pairing. that one is short as well, i just wanted something quick and a little fluffy for you all to read.  
> final note - this fic was mostly inspired by the tumblr post originally from demisexualmerrill: 'how do i passive-aggressively say 'fuck you' in flower?'

"Morning, Katya!" Jinkx called out from the work benches as the playful blonde bounced into the shop with far more energy than most would have on a Monday morning.

Visits from Katya had become quite regular over the last three months and always followed a predictable pattern; nearly every other week almost always at the same time, Katya would saunter into the shop early afternoon right after the lunch rush had died down. If she happened to arrive while there were still customers, she would patiently wait until the last had left, either sitting quietly in the alcove for some people-watching or up on the second level to look over the various knickknacks.

Once the shop was finally clear, she'd take her place at Jinkx's side and beg for another bouquet to give to Trixie. Taking Sharon's concerns into account, Jinkx was always reluctant to create another arrangement. True to her word, more than once she'd tried to talk Katya out of the order and encouraged her instead to speak with Trixie openly about her feelings. But as soon as Katya's nerves began to show, Jinkx found herself giving in and agreeing to one more bouquet. The few times Sharon had been present during this display, she held her tongue but the look she gave Jinkx always inspired a guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Still...she just couldn't say 'no' to Katya.

She had genuinely come to like the girl and the blindingly bright smile that came with every finished bouquet had charmed her completely. Katya was also interesting to talk to; aside from Trixie, she loved to discuss her classes and her shows. The recounting of her performances Jinkx found she could do without, but the classes? Those captured her interest.

Katya was a part time student, balancing her schooling with her career in such a way that Jinkx was a little envious of. She made it look so effortless but Katya assured her there was a lot of unseen stress that went with it. Part of why she began studying in the library most nights was because it was always guaranteed to be free of distractions and Katya's mind did have a tendency to wander. What she hadn't expected was to find Trixie working there.

She had recognized the girl from her classes because apparently Trixie had quite a distinct look; vibrantly blonde hair styled and bulked up so much that no one wanted to sit behind her in class unless it was in a lecture hall. Her makeup was bold and colorful most of the time; the whole picture being very reminiscent of an old-school Barbie doll which had led to Katya's nickname for the woman. Trixie herself was less than pleased with the comparison but had never really asked her to stop so now Katya used it whenever she wanted to tease her. Finally Trixie's usual attire consisted mostly of pastel or muted colors. Easter seemed to be her favorite theme when choosing out clothing as she almost always was wearing one of the following; pink, yellow, white, or a floral print.

Though Jinkx would never say this out loud, the garish clothing described seemed to be a perfect compliment for what she's seen Katya wearing already. Perhaps that was what caught Katya's eye in the first place. Moving on from the physical description, Katya had mentioned the first few times they had talked; up until they were assigned to work on a project together, it had been almost entirely class-related. Katya would ask for help finding books or resources in the library and Trixie would assist. Not that she had much choice in the matter, it was her job after all. Shortly before becoming partners on a shared project, Trixie had begun asking Katya more personal questions; what were her interests? What did she do outside of class? Had she ever been to such-and-such bar?

The last question had taken Katya by surprise because every time Trixie would ask, she'd always use the name of a different well-known gay bar in the area. It seems this was Trixie's subtle way of trying to determine which way Katya leant in regards to sexual preferences. When they finally had begun working on their assignment together, Trixie seemed to have felt confident enough to share what her own orientation was and from that point on Katya's self control began to steadily decline.

Before she became aware of which way Trixie swung, she never really considered the possibility of a mutual attraction. Sure she found the young woman to be cute, when she wasn't rolling her eyes or groaning to herself, but once she realized there was potential for her crush to be reciprocated; her nerves kicked into overdrive. She simply wasn't sure if Trixie was trying to flirt with her or just was trying to bond over their mutual interest in women. She was confused to say the least and never really had the confidence to question her more closely. She'd just dance around the topic and often inadvertently managed to annoy Trixie in the process...It was a vicious cycle but Trixie was nothing if not persistent in at least wanting to be friends with the unusual blonde. That was some consolation at least.

But now it seemed that the frequent bouquets were starting to make progress, painfully slow progress, but it was still something. Trying to keep up the momentum, Katya began appearing every two weeks for a new bouquet once the previous one had begun withering. She'd plead with the young assistant to help and like the prior visits; she'd give in...every single time. Jinkx couldn't recall how many flowers she had gone through for these two; countless honeysuckle, jonquil, carnations, toadflax...Oh, god. So much toadflax. Jinkx was almost sick of it but nearly every other bouquet included it for its subtle pleading of 'please notice my feelings for you.' It just never seemed to stick out to Trixie of what Katya was really trying to say.

But every time Katya left with a new bouquet, she'd return the next morning to tell Jinkx how it was received. The redhead loved to hear Katya describing Trixie's smile; it made her long for someone of her own that she could have that kind of relationship with. For as much as Katya seemed to irritate this woman at times, it was clear Trixie had such a soft spot for the older blonde.

Katya hopped on the work tables, as she almost always did during her morning visits, and sprawled herself out among the unused plants as she blissfully recounted yesterday's gift. Katya made it a point to bring the bouquet on a night she knew Trixie would be working in the library; she always studied while she was there but she loved seeing Trixie's face light up as soon as she found the vase sitting at her station. The effort always paid off because as soon as Trixie took her first break of the evening, she'd find her way over to Katya's study space and chat with the older woman. Occasionally she'd bring coffee or a light snack, particularly if there was a test coming up in one of their classes but it was the underlying gratitude and warm smile that Katya loved the most. She had even gotten better with not falling back on annoying Trixie with lame jokes and puns or calling her by one of the nicknames she detested.

From what Jinkx could tell, things were moving in the right direction and perhaps with just a bit more encouragement, she could convince Katya to simply talk things out with Trixie and leave the bouquets out of the picture entirely. As much as she liked creating the arrangements, with each passing week she felt more and more of a foreboding feeling, much like Sharon had mentioned long before. The last thing she wanted was for Katya to get hurt. She seemed like such a sweet girl and Trixie truly seemed to be special to her...Jinkx could only hope that the feelings are reciprocated by both parties.

*************  
As Katya continued to give her own gifts to Trixie, Jinkx found herself doing much the same with Sharon. She felt like she could never truly express how grateful she was to the older woman for seeing the best in her and encouraging her to pursue her interest. The first gift she gave, Jinkx felt like an utterly nervous wreck as she waited for Sharon to appear for their morning chats. Her hands were shaking as she clutched the cheerful looking gift bag in front of her and toyed with the idea of shoving it aside somewhere and forgetting the whole thing. Before she had a chance to give it genuine consideration, Sharon appeared from next door, still in her usual night clothes, and gave a startled noise as she found Jinkx already waiting for her at the table.

With a vaguely confused smile, she made her way over to the redhead and yawned out, "You're here a bit early...usually I have the coffee made already by the time you come in."

"I know," Jinkx trailed off as she tried her best to maintain eye contact. "Wanted to give you this first."

Her heart was racing in her chest as she handed the bag to her boss and darted her gaze to the floor as she awaited the response. A relieved sigh escaped her lips as she heard Sharon ruffling through the tissue paper and gasp in surprise.

"Oh, Jinkx!" Sharon exclaimed as she pulled the redhead in for an unexpected hug, "Thank you!"

Finding herself flushing a little, Jinkx mumbled, "I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done...it...it really means a lot to me and-"

Her sentence was cut off as she felt Sharon's lips pressed softly on her temple. A heavy swallow was forced back down her throat as she gave the older woman a shy smile. She didn't think she would ever forget the way Sharon looked at her in that moment.

"How'd you know?" the blonde asked, referring to the gifts in the bag.

With a hint of bashfulness, Jinkx mumbled "You had mentioned before that that was your favorite kind of coffee...I asked some of my old coworkers if they could order some from the manufacturer..."

"And the cigarettes; what about them?" Sharon questioned with a knowing smirk.

Shrugging her shoulders and glancing away, Jinkx offered, "Lucky guess?"

It was far from from it and she had a feeling Sharon knew that. She'd spent the last week or two trying to figure which brand Sharon preferred only to come up with three different possibilities. Swallowing her nerves, Jinkx approached Violet hoping for a solid answer. She had considered Willam as well but Violet at least seemed the less likely to tease her. Willam would do it all in good fun but Jinkx knew she'd probably run away in embarrassment before Willam would give her a direct answer.

Violet was all too eager to help; her lips had curled into a self-satisfied smile which had made Jinkx a bit suspicious as Violent mentioned which product was Sharon's favorite. If it hadn't been one that Jinkx already knew Sharon liked she would have regarded the whole thing as rather suspect but Violet assured her that she wasn't lying or trying to make fun of her. She simply thought it was sweet that Jinkx was putting so much effort in what she wanted to give Sharon.

Jinkx remembered all too well how brightly her cheeks were burning following that statement but it was entirely worth it just to see Sharon's smile that morning. To her surprise she felt a gentle peck to her cheek and had to fight against herself not to turn her head so that their lips might brush as Sharon pulled away. The realization that she wanted to kiss Sharon was a bit surprising but when she took notice of her pounding heart and twisting stomach; it made a bit more sense.

"I'm gonna start our first pot with this, okay?" Sharon suggested as she pulled out the coffee mix from the gift bag.

Nodding her head, Jinkx remained in a blissfully stunned state as she tried to slow down her racing heart. Her lips were curled into a smile that she hoped didn't betray her true feelings as Sharon turned away to begin preparing their morning coffee. While she worked, Jinkx found herself watching the older blonde with an entirely content and peaceful state of mind that would have seemed foreign to her only a year ago. Taking a moment to reflect on this moment of simple pleasures, Jinkx found herself thinking that if this was what she came into work to every day, she genuinely wouldn't mind spending the rest of her life in the shop.

And that one little thought drove home the underlying truth that had laid buried in the furthest corners of her mind for past few weeks. Her heart gave a little jump as she came to understand that she was falling for her boss...hard.

***********

Days passed since Jinkx came to recognize her feelings during that otherwise routine morning chat with Sharon. She found she was very okay with that knowledge after giving it some serious thought the following day. It didn't really change much, she might have acted a little more flustered whenever she received a word of praise or Sharon's skin brushed against hers but she was still able to act professional and keep her crush in check...was it even a crush at this point? It felt like something more...like a beautiful mix of infatuation and admiration.

And admire Sharon she did...from afar at least.

More than once she realized that she had halted her own work to watch as Sharon pondered over her own shop duties. Jinkx found nearly every habit to be fascinating; from the furrowing of her brow as she tried to balance the work logs and expense books, the pleased smile as she closed a deal with another supplier, and even the way she twisted her hair absently around her fingers as she gazed off into space, perhaps even debating if she should take a smoke break or not.

Every new quirk she discovered reignited her adoration for the woman; it was a feeling that was quite different than what she experienced with Ivy. Her previous crush, and she would gladly call it that, had been all blushes and butterflies in her stomach. She loved Ivy's personality but her habits and mannerisms never really captured her attention, not in the way Sharon does. It was different, almost a more mature, more evolved sense of attraction. One fueled by a deep desire simply of wanting to know Sharon better. Sure, she knew some of her concerns, her likes and dislikes and so on but Jinkx found that she wanted to know _more_. She truly just longed to talk with Sharon about anything and everything under the sun, nothing spilling from her lips could be boring. As long as it was Sharon, she'd listen to anything with interest.

In her own duplication of Katya's efforts, she presented Sharon with a small gift every now and then. She told herself it was just her continued way of trying to thank the older woman but deep down she knew she was as smitten as Katya was and her intentions were even more unlikely of being reciprocated. Still though, she was just happy to see Sharon smile.

The gifts were very ordinary, nothing quite so bold as a bouquet, usually just something edible that Jinkx had made herself. Thanks to working as a barista, she knew quite a few recipes for sweets and pastries. With a little tweak on every treat she made, she managed to reproduce her old shop's trademark bakery products in a style that seemed to fit Sharon. The older woman never really seemed to care much for sweets, her fondness for black coffee a prime example, so Jinkx did her best to cut the sugar and create pastries that were more to Sharon's taste. One of the cupcakes Sharon had grown especially fond of was a recreation of a pumpkin roll using the dough as the cupcake base and the traditional filling as icing. Sometimes Jinkx would top it off with Autumn-themed sprinkles, little pumpkin and leaf shaped ones, and every single time Sharon's smile lit up like she was staring at the best part of her day at that moment.

Every so often, so long as no one else was around to witness it, Sharon would repay the gesture with a quick kiss to her cheek and of course a sincere 'Thank you.' Pretty quickly, Jinkx made sure to present her the treats either early in the morning during their coffee chats or while she and Sharon were alone in the break room after the lunch rush. Not that Jinkx was solely doing that just for the increased possibility of a peck to the cheek, no! She was just respecting Sharon's desire for privacy and not wanting the other girls to see her in those rare moments when her walls were down, that was all.

For the longest time Jinkx was feeling quite content with how her life in the shop was progressing. Even though she desperately wanted Katya to err on the side of caution and toss aside the need for bouquets, she still looked forward to her visits. They were another little ray of light in an otherwise pretty monotonous day. Aside from shop life, the only other exciting thing going on in Jinkx's life at the moment was her need to visit a dentist...though perhaps 'exciting' was a bit of a stretch.

Every six months when the reminder card would appear in the mail, Jinkx found herself dreading the visit. To date she's only ever had one cavity and that was more than enough. Every visit sparked a surge of fear that they might find yet another and schedule her for a filling then and there...that was what happened the first time after all; no warning, no delay, just got right to work on the cavity that same day. It was a little traumatizing for someone who never expected to experience that during a routine check up.

Her most recent appointment had been scheduled in the afternoon which meant that unfortunately she was unable to assist during the lunch rush. She was able to return just in time for the late afternoon/early evening wave to begin and for that she was thankful. It had just been Sharon and Ivy working together while she was gone and she hated leaving them to face the onslaught of customers alone. There was barely any time to time to exchange pleasantries before the first few customers began filing in. Casually between the orders to made, Ivy mentioned that Katya had come in for yet another bouquet while Jinkx was at her appointment. The redhead released a groan that she had missed Katya's visit and stated she would get in touch with Courtney to let Katya know when she would be able to make it.

"Don't worry about it, I took care of it," Ivy assured her with a bright smile.

Very much relieved by the news, Jinkx released a grateful sigh and thanked her before continuing on with the current list of orders. All of it kept the three women quite busy up until the final two hours the shop was open. It wasn't late by any means, barely past 6 PM but really, who would be buying flowers this late at night? The break was very much welcomed for Sharon and Ivy in particular and while they excused themselves to the break room for a quick refresher. Jinkx took to minding the shop front. Most everything was prepared for the next day already so all that was really left at this point was to find a few miscellaneous cleaning tasks to fill the time until they could clock out.

Organizing her station for tomorrow, Jinkx glanced up as the shop's bell began to ring and was immediately followed by loud shunting of the door. Rushing to the front counter to greet the customer, Jinkx was a bit shocked by the woman who had just come storming in. Her carefully curled hair was in a bit of mess, too much to have been caused by wind alone, and her heavy eyeliner looked as though it had been smudged and then hastily reapplied without taking all of it off. There were faint streaks where tears must have been running down her cheeks, again attempted to be hidden but with the woman standing less than three feet from her; it was hard to miss the stains.

Before Jinkx even had a chance to welcome the new customer, the mystery woman asked hurriedly, "You're the ones that make the bouquets right? The ones that say some stupid message or something with the flowers?"

A little taken aback by the sharpness of the tone, Jinkx internally forgave her as it was hard to ignore the cracking of her voice with the final few words. It sounded like she was on the verge of crying again for who knows how many times so far today. Nodding politely, the redhead waited patiently as the young woman asked, "Can you make me one? Like tonight or do I have to wait until tomorrow?"

"We should be able to handle it right now...What would you like your bouquet to say?" Jinkx inquired cautiously.

"'Fuck you.'"

Stunned, Jinkx sputtered, "I-I'm sorry?"

"I want it to say 'Fuck you'."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> early update because i have no self control to wait until weds. enjoy, because this is probably the last update for the year and.......only two chapters remain!!!!

Following their reconciliation at the club, Willam and Courtney never really mentioned that fight again, at least not to each other. Jinkx had made a cautious inquiry to Courtney regarding it, genuinely concerned if the two had made up or not, but Courtney just awkwardly danced around subject and assured her they were fine now. Though she sounded confident in her answer the queasiness in her stomach told a different story. She knew they needed to talk about it more; the few words they exchanged proved there were some underlying issues they needed to address but she could never bring herself to mention the topic to Willam. In the end, she was just glad to have her friend back and she didn't want to jeopardize that again.

Another reason not to revisit the fight was her residual guilt for sleeping with Katya. Though it truly meant nothing to either woman in regards to their friendship, it _did_ have an impact on how Courtney viewed Willam. She couldn't deny any longer that she was in fact attracted to the dirty blonde nor could she deny that she had no chance with her either. Like she had mentioned to Katya; Courtney just wasn't her type. On the few instances where she had seen Willam take home another woman; each one was quite different from her. About the only shared trait she had with them was that they were all blonde like her...but so was Sharon so perhaps it just meant that Willam had a preference for blonde hair, at least on women.

The men she had taken home...that was a different story.

True, she didn't seem to be sleeping around quite as much as she had when Courtney first met her but there was still the occasional casual encounter and those men seemed to follow no standard other than the fact that each was quite good looking in their own way. Willam seemed to have no discernible preference when it came to men so long as they were at least attractive.

It was hard at times watching Willam flirt while at the clubs. When it was directed towards a man, there was a twinge of an ache in her chest but it could be ignored with enough effort. However, when a woman was involved, her jealousy sparked up violently and more often than not Courtney would give anything to be somewhere else at that moment. But despite the flirting, it was becoming rarer for either Willam or Courtney to actually leave with anyone else. There was one instance a mere four weeks ago that really seemed to drive that point home.

As usual the pair had danced most of the night away by themselves while occasionally allowing a third or even fourth to join in for a song. The sea of people was steadily thinning and soon the girls would be calling it a night as well. It was getting late after all and both would have to find their way into work the next morning. They pushed themselves away from the crowded dance floor and back to the bar for one final drink before they'd order an Uber back to Willam's apartment.

While they sipped their last cocktail of the night and chatted about plans for tomorrow, a mildly intoxicated young man bounced up to the bar next to them. With a light slur in his voice he offered to buy the women another drink as he all but crowded them against the counter's ledge. Willam was annoyed by the invasion of both her conversation and her personal space and her face clearly expressed that sentiment. Courtney, always the one to be more tactful, declined for both of them with a small word of gratitude for the offer.

Undeterred, the man brushed off the refusal with a wave of his hand and instead asked, "Well, what are my chances of taking one of you ladies home tonight?"

"Zero," Willam supplied unkindly.

"We'll be leaving _together_ ," Courtney informed with a tolerant but firm smile, hoping he'd take the hint and move on.

Jumping to the wrong conclusion, the drunken stranger's interest seemed to be piqued and inquired bluntly, "Lesbians, huh? I'm sure I could add a little spice in the bedroom. What do you say?"

Courtney felt her smile instantly turned into a disgusted scowl but before she could snap back a response, Willam's hand clutched hers for a quick squeeze. Flicking her eyes to the dirty blonde's, Willam sent back a subtle wink and mouthed, 'Play along.'

Reaching up to pull the man closer by his collar, she taunted, "Yeah? Then let's see what you got."

Courtney barely had time to question Willam's actions before the dirty blonde crashed her lips to intoxicated stranger's. Courtney felt her jaw to drop and eyes to bulge as she watched her friend in stunned silence. Willam certainly made a good show of it for the few seconds she allowed their lips to remain connected. Then just as quickly as she had started, she pushed the man away and downed the rest of her drink with a quick gulp. Turning towards Courtney, she cupped the blonde's cheek delicately and brushed their lips against one another for a brief moment. Though it was clear Willam only intended to make it look as though she were kissing the blonde, Courtney decided very quickly that she wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.

Besides, she couldn't let Willam have all of the fun, right?

The dirty blonde caught on to Courtney's game and the two gave their unwelcomed intruder a show to remember. Willam had quickly taken charge, licking her way into Courtney's mouth as the blonde clutched her body close. It felt like the world had stopped spinning and the music droned out for that brief moment of time the pair was focused solely on each other.

Perhaps by the end they had gotten a bit too enthusiastic with the display, evidenced by the smudged lipstick and light panting as they broke apart. The pair stared at each other in surprise until Willam spun back around to address the still gawking man beside them.

Pretending to consider the two people in front of her, Willam tilted her head as though in thought before snarkily replying, "Mm...I think the only person I'll be tasting tonight is _her_."

Courtney found herself flushing at the statement, meaningless as it was, and shortly after was forced to abandon what was left of her drink as Willam pulled her away from the bar. Once outside the club, the pair refused to look directly at each other or talk about what happened as they waited for the Uber to arrive. Even the ride to Willam's apartment was mostly silent, aside from the polite small talk they made with their driver.

Almost hesitantly, Courtney followed Willam back to her bedroom and sat down beside her amongst the tangled sheets thrown on top of the mattress. Willam's eyes were drifting anywhere that wasn't in Courtney's direction as she tried her best to maintain a straight face. If Courtney hadn't known her so well, it might have fooled her but every little twitch of the dirty blonde's fingers as she played with her bracelets or pushed aside a stray lock of hair screamed 'anxiety'.

After several moments of uncomfortable silence, Willam found the nerve to ask, "Court...At the club...Was-did I cross a line with that?"

Eyes growing wide at the question, Courtney shook her head and assured her, "No, no, you were fine! It was actually..."

Willam's curious gaze traveled up to meet hers as she paused to carefully think about how phrase her next sentence. With a shy smile, Courtney admitted, "It was...fun."

Smirking, Willam repeated in a playful tone, "'Fun'?"

Flushing from the admission, Courtney's eyes dropped to the bedspread as she asserted, "Yeah...fun."

Chuckling at the timid behavior, Willam tilted Courtney's chin up until she gave another bashful smile. Returning her own fond grin, Willam pressed their lips together once more until they both had to break apart to giggle at the situation. Courtney knew they both still had a pretty good buzz going but maybe that was just what she needed in order to not freak out about what they were doing. Over and over their lips met one another until the soft laughter finally died down and the pair stopped pulling away altogether.

The kiss wasn't exactly romantic but it didn't feel entirely platonic either, at least not on Courtney's part. Her heart was racing and ears pounding but she knew she didn't want to stop for anything. She made no objection as Willam very gradually guided her to lay on the mattress and moved over top of her. If anything, Courtney encouraged it as she clutched at Willam's waist to keep their bodies connected in any way that she could. One of Willam's hands rose to cup her face and lazily trace her thumb across Courtney's cheek as the other slowly traveled down her side to the hem of her short dress. Courtney felt her mind growing hazy as Willam's lips left hers to graze along her jawline and down the curve of her neck.

Her grip on Willam's waist had tightened considerably as the dirty blonde set her mouth to work on a spot just a few inches above her clavicle. She was all but squirming in place as the fingers toying with the bottom of her dress slipped beneath the fabric to run across her inner thigh. Despite herself, she released a shocked gasp at where this seemed to be heading and whatever trance Willam seemed to be in quickly broke.

Almost as if she had been burned, Willam's hands retreated and she sat back up. An expression of pure guilt passed over her face for a split second before she forced a nervous smile to take its place. Inexplicably apologetic, Willam began, "Sorry...forgot-"

"What?" Courtney inquired softly as she tried to hide her broken gasps for air.

Staring helplessly at the blonde beneath her, Willam admitted, "I...I don't even know...Just...forgot who we were for a moment..."

Without another word, the dirty blonde rolled off to empty space on the bed looking just a bit ashamed of herself. It hurt to see that expression but Courtney had no idea what was causing this reaction. Maybe because they were just supposed to be friends? That they weren't supposed to do this sort of thing with one another?

She was wondering if she ought to leave before things became more awkward but Willam's body curling into hers pushed that thought from her mind. There was a hint of a tragic, lost look in Willam's eyes as she stared at the small amount of space left between their bodies. Courtney had no clue what to do to comfort her but she knew something needed to be done.

In a shaky voice, Courtney whispered, "Bill? Do you mind-Can I stay here tonight?"

Almost immediately Willam was nodding her head in confirmation and pulling as much of the covers over their bodies as she could manage. Courtney knew they ought to clean up first or at the very least remove their makeup but she was certain that if she left the bed, whatever illusion was in place right now would disappear. Or maybe 'delusion' would be more appropriate.

Either way, she pulled Willam in close to her until they both drifted off into a deep sleep. She was the first to awaken the next morning, very grateful she wasn't working the opening shift that day as she took notice of the first rays of light peeking in through the windows. Willam still seemed to be fast asleep but soon she'd need to awaken in order to make it to her own job on time...Well, a few more minutes couldn't hurt right?

Rolling over to face the nightstand, Courtney checked the setting for Willam's usual alarm and to her relief, found they still had well over an hour left. With that consolation in mind, Courtney flipped the button to set the reminder and allowed herself to fall back asleep wrapped around her dozing friend.

When the pair was finally forced to crawl out from beneath the warm sheets and return to daily life, they gave each other soft smiles but neither dared to speak for most of the morning. Courtney borrowed a few of Willam's clothes following her much needed shower and sped over to the shop with more than enough time to spare before the start of her shift. Sharon and Violet were engaged in a bit of light chatter at the front counter as she walked in but almost immediately it stopped as their eyes raked over her attire for the day. Her cheeks felt like they were burning as she saw the recognition in their eyes and raised a pair of matching brows.

"Nothing happened!" she squeaked out in defense, almost clasping her hands over her mouth for her own stupidity.

"We believe you," Violet assured her calmly. "You're missing your apron, though."

"There's an extra hanging in the back," Sharon added before Courtney dashed off to escape their questioning stares. If she had dared to turn around one final time, she would have found her bosses exchanging very pleased smiles at the most recent development they had just witnessed.

***********  
That one night sparked a chain of similar events that Courtney found herself in no way fighting to change. Like an unspoken ritual, whenever the girls would come back from a night at the club, Courtney would follow Willam back to the bedroom and the two would share a kiss before falling asleep in one another's arms. Sometimes, depending on the amount of alcohol they drank, it'd be short and sweet; little more than a brushing of their lips. Other times...Other times it was struggle for Courtney not to be left panting when the pair finally broke apart. But it was only ever one kiss per night after they returned from dancing...yet quickly that had changed as Willam encouraged Courtney to continue sleeping over even when they hadn't been drinking. Those kisses were always more hesitant, more fleeting but Courtney looked forward to it all the same.

The nights she spent in her own apartment were gradually becoming fewer and fewer until Katya finally had to comment, "She ought to start charging you rent with how often you stay there."

Courtney flushed at the statement and ran back to her room to get ready for that night's activities but she had to agree that Katya did have a point; she _was_ sleeping over at Willam's a lot. She hardly remembered what her own bed felt like on most days. And after that small incident in the shop, Courtney had begun keeping a few of her own clothes mixed in with Willam's and throwing her apron in her car just in case. She didn't want to address the topic with the dirty blonde for fear of breaking whatever fragile spell seemed to have overtaken both of them...she was selfish...she wanted to spend her nights with Willam, to share a small kiss even if the dirty blonde didn't mean anything by it.

And it seemed Willam had been musing over that subject as well, at least enough to become concerned enough to ask one morning, "Hey, um...When I-you know, at night...does that...make you uncomfortable?"

"No!" Courtney blurted out in surprise, "Why do you ask?"

Shrugging offhandedly, Willam replied defensively, "I just...I always start it."

Courtney paused for a moment trying to will away the blood rising to her cheeks. With a tense swallow, she asked cautiously, "Do you want me to?...To start it, I mean."

Shrugging again, Willam darted her eyes away and seemed to be wishing desperately that she hadn't said anything. Lurking just beneath her tan skin, Courtney found a trace of pink beginning to shine through. Scooting closer to the dirty blonde, Courtney leant in until their lips were just barely a few inches apart and whispered, "I really don't mind it."

As Willam's eyes shot back up to meet hers, she felt her own lids grow heavy as she pressed their lips together for soft peck. There was so much more she wanted to do that morning; to pull Willam close to her, run her fingers through her hair until the curls became tangled in her digits. To push her back to the mattress and kiss her until there wasn't a trace of air left in either of their lungs...But she didn't...

The kiss remained chaste and brief but it proved its point. From then on, a new tradition began; Willam initiated the kiss at night and Courtney began hers in the morning. It was nice, Courtney thought to herself. She could indulge in her own little fantasy just a little bit more. She ignored how much she wanted to push the boundaries further, mostly because she didn't want to risk freaking Willam out but also because she was simply afraid of becoming more hopelessly attached and winding up hurt.

Still the thought lurked in the back of her mind of what more they could possibly do. The question popped up on a near daily basis until she finally had to turn to the one person who might be able to provide some answers; Sharon.

Courtney drummed her fingers nervously along the table top as she waited for her boss to make her first appearance of the morning. There was still a good bit of time before the shop was due to open but nerves forced Courtney to check the clock on her phone every few minutes until the moment Sharon finally arrived. Her surprise upon seeing Courtney here today was quite evident as she took in a small gasp and mentioned, "Oh! I was expecting Jinkx."

Apologetically, Courtney gave her a small smile and babbled, "I'm sorry. I texted her last night and asked to change shifts...I wanted to talk to you."

Brows furrowed in concern, Sharon ignored her usual morning routine of starting the coffee and took a seat next to Courtney. Leaning forward just slightly, she asked curiously, "What's going on?"

Fiddling with one of the hair ties around her wrist, Courtney began softly, "When...When you and Willam were, um, seeing each other-"

"Sleeping together," Sharon corrected.

"Yeah, that," the younger blonde mumbled as a light pink began to grow across her cheeks. "...how did that...happen exactly?"

Eyeing up her employee for a moment, Sharon arched a brow and asked, "Have you talked to Willam about it?"

Once Courtney shook her in the negative, Sharon paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before vaguely describing the events, "I guess you could just call it 'fluidly'. I mean, we didn't really talk about it like, 'let's be friends with benefits.' It just kind of...happened...again and again until it was a regular thing..."

Courtney nodded her head, seemingly processing everything, and Sharon took the opportunity to question, "Why do you ask?"

Flushing almost violently, Courtney bit her lip as she glanced up to Sharon with a look of minor guilt and shame before admitting, "I was thinking of maybe...you know..."

Seeing right through Courtney's facade, Sharon's eyes narrowed shrewdly as she challenged, "Is that really what you want though?"

The Aussie darted her sight away from her boss as she shrugged her shoulders and replied unsurely, "Maybe?"

Releasing a soft, understanding sigh, Sharon informed her employee, "I'll tell you what I've told Jinkx to tell Katya; you need to _talk_ to the other person. If you dance around the subject, you're probably just gonna wind up tripping over your own fucking feet. Grow a pair and tell them what you want...especially with Willam. She's got a big mouth...but not when it comes to shit like this...If you're wondering how she feels, look for the little signs...she sends them out all the time."

A fond smile found its way to Courtney's lips as she confessed, "She said the same thing about you...the signs I mean."

Sharon blinked in stunned confusion for a second before a reluctant smile broke out across her face. Now it was her turn to blush, if only ever so slightly.

"So you've figured it out too?"

A nod of confirmation from Courtney compelled her to ask, "How long have you known?"

"A few months..." Courtney admitted with a sheepish grin, "Since you gave her the book."

Breaking their connected gaze, Sharon allowed her walls to crack just for a moment as she asked quietly, "How hopeless is it?"

Thinking carefully to herself of how to phrase it delicately, Courtney reached over to rest her hand on Sharon's and said quite honestly, "I think...you might need to take your own advice."

Rolling her eyes as her cheeks turned just a shade darker, Sharon retorted, "Easier said than done."

"Amen," Courtney replied feelingly.

*************

That was the first and only time Courtney had mentioned anything to Sharon but certainly not the last time she thought about their conversation. She wondered about Sharon's comment of 'looking for the signs' but it seemed so farfetched that Willam could like her, at least not in the way that she wanted it to be. Yes, Willam had an incredible soft spot for her, but Courtney knew that already. Willam would listen to her and sometimes take her opinions into account more than Violet or Sharon but that didn't really mean anything. There were times when it was just the opposite. Perhaps that was what Sharon meant...that Willam understood Courtney's feelings but didn't want to turn her down too harshly...that she wanted to show her that she only thought of Courtney as a close friend...that seemed much more likely anyway. By no means was Willam stupid; she was very observant and Courtney would be rather surprised if Willam hadn't suspected anything yet. After all, despite her efforts, she knows her attempts at hiding her emotions are piss-poor at best.

Sharon does a better job at concealing her feelings, at least whenever Jinkx is around. When it's just Willam and Violet, and now Courtney, she's a bit more open. Mostly because her long-time friends love to tease her at every opportunity. One of the most recent turn of events that had just about convinced Courtney that Jinkx returned Sharon's feelings was the ever increasing appearance of homemade baked goods specifically designed with Sharon's aesthetic in mind, namely the cupcakes. The abundance of treats was hard to miss after a certain point, leading Willam to mention one day, "Thought you didn't like sweets..."

Taking a small bite from a cupcake out of the most recent batch, Sharon commented mildly, "I like these."

With a knowing smirk on her lips, Violet teased, "Jinkx made them, didn't she?"

"Fuck off," Sharon shot back with just a hint of embarrassed irritation in her voice.

Smirking ever wider, particularly now that she had confirmation, Violet taunted, "Real mature."

"Learned from my daughter," the blonde replied sarcastically before finishing off the mini cupcake and starting on the next all while slapping at Willam's hand whenever she tried to snatch one for herself.

The only person who truly seemed to be making any real progress with their crush was in fact Katya. On the nights that Courtney was out with Willam, it became more common than not to receive a flurry of texts from Katya describing her latest interactions with Trixie. The pair never really talked about the bouquets, at least as far as Courtney could tell, but they were discussing other topics. Non-class related ones and that caused a surge of pride in Courtney's chest. It meant that Katya was finally starting to overcome her anxiety and open up to Trixie, at least in little steps. The mentions of Katya accidentally annoying the younger woman were becoming rarer and rarer and Courtney couldn't help but feel they were close to a breakthrough.

Trixie had made it a point now to spend her breaks with Katya, even walking back to their cars together after her shift ended and the library closed. During some of their classes where free seating was an option, the pair would often find their way to one another. There were other small things like Trixie bring her refreshments in the library, Katya letting Trixie borrow notes and supplies, and even just random conversations outside of the library or classroom! Courtney's favorite development was when they had a short lunch together. One of their mutual classes had ended early due to both of them finishing their test before the allotted time expired and in order to decompress, they decided to head over to campus's cafe for a pick-me-up. It was only about 20 minutes before they had to rush off for the rest of their courses but it had been relaxing, Courtney was told. Nothing had gone wrong, in fact Katya had spent the rest of the day in a blissful haze following their impromptu luncheon. The blondes were all but squealing with delight as Katya told her in person every little detail she could remember.

And of course Trixie loved the flowers. Courtney only wished she could see Trixie's smile for real rather than trying to imagine it using Katya's glamorized and admittedly biased description. It seems Trixie would keep the bouquets displayed as long as possible and the day after it was finally thrown away due to withering, Katya would be back with a new one. There were a few occasions were Courtney was able to see Jinkx create the bouquet and none of them failed to disappoint. She loved watching the younger woman work and bring life back to the dead plants. She truly had a natural talent for it, one Courtney longed to replicate but all the same she still happy with her own skill set.

However, the last bouquet...something had gone terribly wrong with it. Something that had left Trixie crying in her office and Katya very near tears at the apartment.

The routine seemed to have started out normally; Katya had gone in for a new order and left with one. The only difference was that Ivy had been the one to make it but she had followed the instructions Jinkx had left and according to Katya; the bouquet was quite stunning. It was vibrant and eye catching and featured some of Trixie's favorite colors; pink, yellow and white. It hardly looked any different than one she normally would have received from Jinkx.

In all she was quite happy with the product so off she went to the library with it, as per usual. Even when Trixie first looked at the bouquet, she seemed quite thrilled as well. She had taken notice of the color scheme and her smile reflected that...then suddenly her face had dropped. Her eyes were darting all over the bouquet, from one flower to the next and back to the insert and then without any warning, tears were streaming down her face. She stole a glance to Katya for a brief moment before one of her coworkers had taken notice of her reaction and rushed over. The second another employee was at her side, Trixie rushed off into the back office with Katya quickly bolting after her.

As Courtney discovered once she returned home from Willam's apartment only 15 minutes after receiving the texts, Katya's attempts to find out what was wrong had gone very poorly; Trixie was an utter mess once she was away from the public eye. Her makeup was running down her cheeks and she was absolutely furious. Katya had been too shell-shocked to offer much explanation for herself and Trixie swiftly demanded that she leave the library. One of the other employees had found them by this time and led Katya out of the office to gather her belongings and leave the premises for the time being.

The whole situation had unfolded so rapidly that Katya had no time to learn what the source of the reaction was, much less to apologize for it. She had a horrified 'I-fucked-everything-up' expression on her face once Courtney found her curled up in her bed almost but not quite beneath the covers. Immediately she slipped in beside her and pulled the younger woman into her arms but Katya still seemed too stunned to even cry at this point. She just sounded so lost as she told Courtney all that had happened.

Eventually Katya managed to fall asleep in her arms, her hands clutching desperately at Courtney's clothes in an attempt to keep her as close as possible. It was less than a surprise when Courtney managed to pull her phone from her pocket that her inbox was blown up with messages from damn near everyone connected to the shop. By the time Courtney managed to read through all of them she felt they ought to have just created a group chat for everyone to vent about the situation.

The first series of texts she looked at were of course from Willam wondering what was going on. Courtney had offered very little explanation as she rushed from her apartment to go console Katya. After about an hour, it seems Violet had had gotten in touch with her and explained some of the situation and now Willam was checking in on both of them. The next compilation of texts had come from the youngest shop owner inquiring about Katya. It seems she had been informed by Sharon about some of the fiasco that had gone on in the shop while she was out and also made a brief mention of flowers she'll need to track down for girls. Confused by the inclusion of that last piece of information but moving on, she read through Sharon's texts immediately following that. The eldest blonde made a polite inquiry about Katya for Violet's sake and mentioned not so kindly that Courtney and the other assistants had 'a lot of shit to fix.'

Dreading the final group of messages, Courtney opened her contact folder for Jinkx and thankfully received a bit more information about what she had missed on her day off; Trixie had stormed into the shop looking very upset and almost on the verge of tears as she requested a bouquet with a rather pointed message. Somehow Sharon managed to calm her down and she left empty-handed for the time being, but now Jinkx, Ivy and Courtney were being roped in to fix everything. Though Sharon had not made any direct comments; she was quite annoyed regarding the whole mess that had been created courtesy of a combined effort from all three of these girls. Jinkx's final text was a simple, 'Call me when you can, I'll explain everything we're doing this weekend.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> meant to post this much earlier but there was a bit of a 'recovery' period after last night.  
> this is the final Shinkx chapter! next will be Witney and a bit of smut for you all to enjoy.  
> here are the flowers and their meanings that don't get an explanation in the text: red dahlia - dishonesty, asphodel - regrets, columbine - deceived lovers and faithlessness, aster - symbol of love and trust, rain lilies - 'i love you too', chrysanthemums - precious one, rue - regret and repentance, daffodils/jonquil (they're basically the same thing) - unrequited love/'please return my feelings', foxglove - insecurity/unsure, ambrosia - 'your affections are returned', gardenia - can also mean 'good luck, it was mentioned in previous chapter with another meaning

"I want it to say 'fuck you.'"

Well, there was no chance Jinkx had misheard what this woman had said and if the smeared makeup was anything to judge by; she certainly meant the sentiment. All the same, the request had left Jinkx shell-shocked where she stood. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a few flowers that would fit the description began to pop up; red dahlias and asphodel for starters, but she couldn't bring herself to continue with this customer's request. There was never a call to make a bouquet like this before and now that the opportunity presented itself, Jinkx wasn't sure if she could fulfill the order. What could have possibly enraged this woman enough to ask for this?

Swallowing down her fear, knowing full well she was overstepping her boundaries, she asked timidly, "What made you want-Why us?"

Fighting back a fresh slew of tears, the woman spat out, "For the last three months _someone_ has been giving me flowers from here and now I'm going to return the favor! I'm going to tell her _exactly_ what I think of her!"

Three months? Jinkx wondered who could have possibly ordered so many bouquets in such a short time frame. No one has been a repeat customer that often except...Oh, no.

Katya!

Then this must be Trixie! She certainly matched Katya's description now that Jinkx had a chance to really look at her; problem print top, hair teased up to the heavens and of course the make up that did look rather like she applied it with a trowel. It wasn't hard to see where Katya had come up with that detested nickname of 'Barbie.'

But Trixie had loved all of the other bouquets! What had hap-The last one she ordered!

Jinkx hadn't been the one to make it but Ivy had! What did she use?

Jinkx had sinking feeling she knew exactly what had gone so wrong but she needed to confirm it with Ivy. Very politely she excused herself to the back of the shop under the pretext of needing to check if they had the correct flowers in stock. For her part the woman she assumed to be Trixie was very patient, even as she was practically fuming at whatever arrangement Katya had unknowingly given her.

Almost sprinting past the door frame, Jinkx found Ivy taking a breather at the table. Knowing she must look half crazed as she rushed over, she frantically asked her, "That bouquet you made for Katya earlier-What was in it?"

Startled, Ivy replied haltingly as she tried to recall everything, "Um...Aster, toadflax...a bit of baby's breath as filler..."

'No, none of those were wrong,' Jinkx thought anxiously as Ivy continued to count off the remaining flowers on her fingers.

"Oh, I stuck in a few roses and carnations on the-

"What colors?" Jinkx interrupted abruptly.

"Yellow!" Ivy supplied with a smile. "They're Trixie's favorite color. They mean love...Don't they?"

Ivy's face fell as she started to realize that perhaps she might have made a mistake. Letting out a heavy sigh, Jinkx informed her, "The red ones do...or even white carnations in a pinch."

Horrified at where the conversation was heading, Ivy asked shakily, "Then what does yellow mean?"

Forcing down a thick swallow, Jinkx admitted very reluctantly, "Disappointment...rejection...betrayal."

Ivy was almost in tears as she heard the meanings and immediately began apologizing for messing things up so badly but Jinkx couldn't let her take all of the blame. She knew Ivy was just following her cheat sheet at the work benches and no where on there had she listed all of the colors and symbolism for each flower, only the more common and generally more positive meanings. The inserts however...those were a bit more descriptive. This was all just one stupid mistake that could have been avoided if Jinkx had stopped herself earlier.

Feeling almost of the verge of tears herself, she confessed, "I think that's Trixie out there...she's pretty upset."

"Oh my god," Ivy exclaimed, "I'll go talk to her! Apologize and expla-"

The clatter of a mug being set down on the counter cut her off and feeling like a weight had just dropped in her stomach, Jinkx turned her head towards the coffee maker to find Sharon staring meaningfully at the pair. There was no doubt she had overheard everything and she was far from happy.

"Sharon, I-" Jinkx began guiltily.

" _I'll_ talk to her," the older blonde interjected firmly as she marched towards the shop front.

The remaining assistants shared a look and meekly poked their heads through the doorway. They were too far to hear what Sharon was saying but she put forth a sincerely apologetic face as she talked with Trixie. It was easy to see that whatever she said had not pleased Trixie in the least but she seemed accepting of the information, albeit very reluctantly. After a good five minutes of the pair speaking back and forth, the young blonde left the shop without another word and certainly no bouquet.

Jinkx was silently marveling at how Sharon managed to calm down the distraught young woman so easily but that thought quickly disappeared as Sharon turned towards the voyeuristic pair and stormed right back into the break room. She felt almost as intimidated by her boss as when she first started working there. Her hands played with the hem of her apron as she kept a very apologetic and remorseful face while she awaited Sharon's arrival. Never before could she recall feeling so small and useless as she had in these last ten minutes.

Once Sharon was staring down the assistants again, Jinkx took the opportunity to ask hesitantly, "What did you say to her?"

"The truth; we don't have any columbine at the moment but we're expecting a new shipment of flowers for the arrangement course," Sharon replied calmly.

Immensely confused, Jinkx asked, "You have an arrangement course?"

" _I_ don't, but _you_ do...Saturday night," Sharon declared unkindly. There was a little twitch in the corner of her lips as she added in sarcastically, "Hope you don't have any plans."

"What?!?" Jinkx exclaimed unhappily.

Undisturbed, the older blonde informed her, "Better get planning now...she's going to be joining so she can make her own bouquet tailored just for Katya."

Still unable to fully processed the information, she stammered, "But-how-"

"Ivy will help you..." her boss asserted firmly with a stony glance to the older assistant. Ivy looked startled that she would be included in this but at the arch of Sharon's eyebrow challenging her to try and disagree, she quickly gave an eager and agreeable nod of her head. With a slight sneer in her voice, Sharon continued on to include, "And I imagine Courtney will also want a hand in this...she has for everything else."

Grabbing her mug from the counter, Sharon planted herself at the table and dismissed her assistants to the front of the shop to begin planning what they'll need. Before the redhead had a chance to disappear past the door frame, she called out, "And you might want to invite some other people too! It'll look a little suspicious if there's only two attendees!"

Oh, god this was going to be a mess.

***********

Jinkx had wasted little time in texting Courtney everything that had happened. There was no response for the longest time but later that night, Courtney was able to call her after Katya had finally fallen asleep. Jinkx felt her heart breaking inside as Courtney recounted the scene she had walked in on as soon as she arrived back at her apartment. Katya was in shambles, too shocked to even cry at how badly the last bouquet had been received and how much she had unintentionally hurt Trixie. It felt like adding salt to the wound as Jinkx informed her of how the mistake had came about; she tried her best to deflect the blame from Ivy but she got the feeling that Courtney was more upset with herself for encouraging Katya to use the bouquets to begin with.

As Jinkx explained the plan Sharon had roped all of them into, she heard a bit of relief in Courtney's voice. She assured the redhead that she would find a few other people to attend the impromptu seminar and of course would make sure Katya would be there as well. While she added in the last part, Jinkx got the feeling it was likely to be easier said than done but she had faith Courtney would fulfill her end of the agreement.

To her credit, Violet was able to get a hold of a shipment of flowers and have them delivered in record time. Admittedly she wasn't sure how much to order and perhaps went a little overboard with her estimate. Well, they could always use the rest for other orders but at least there was no lack of supplies for the class. The rest of the week Jinkx spent her time in a panic trying to decide what she should say and of course practicing everything in the privacy of her bathroom. It all felt clumsy and awkward but she needed to do her best for Katya. After all, if she had listened to Sharon and stopped while she was ahead, none of this would have happened.

She had to make things right!

The day of, Jinkx was racked with nerves. As the hours slowly ticked by she was more grateful than ever when the shop was busy. It took her mind away from what might happen later that night. She hoped everything would work out. It just had to.

Finally, the last customer left the store and Ivy and Jinkx began to clear out some of the space in order to make room for the breakaway tables and chairs. Being so last minute both women felt lucky they were able to find as many as they had, borrowing most and just for good measure, purchasing an extra table and a few chairs themselves until they had enough for a decent sized crowd. They had decided to use the alcove as the display area for the flowers their attendees would be able to select from, as well as Jinkx's makeshift podium being that it was slightly elevated above the rest of the floor by a mere three steps.

Once they had finished, the layout didn't look nearly as rushed and unplanned as expected. A few minutes passed before they heard the shop door opening for what they assumed to be the first student of the night. To their surprise, it was in fact Violet who walked in looking rather dolled up as though she had made plans then decided last minute to bail in favor of attending the class. She gave the girls a little wink as she sat herself in the first row and purposefully placed her coat over the neighboring chair.

"Sharon and I will be participating," she said to no one in particular. "Thought it'd be good for us to learn how to make a proper bouquet finally."

Both of the assistants rolled their eyes but Jinkx for one felt a bit relieved...at least until the young owner added in, "Plus I didn't want to miss the show."

Oh, god that did not help Jinkx's nerves at all, particularly as more attendees began to file into the shop. It was hardly a surprise that Trixie was among the first wave to enter. She had taken an end seat at one the tables furthest away from the door and naturally kept well away from the rest of the crowd loitering closer to the middle rows. She seemed to show a little bit of discomfort, perhaps even having second thoughts, and Jinkx was oddly reassured by that. Maybe there was hope yet that Trixie would be able to understand the mistake and forgive Katya for accidental offense.

It was getting closer and closer to the official start time of the class yet Courtney and Katya were no where in sight. Jinkx was nervously biting her nails as Ivy tried her best to calm her down. Though she was touched by the effort, the attempt did little to ease the nausea in her stomach.

Had Katya refused to show up? Was she a sobbing mess in her apartment? And where was Sharon?!?

Smoking had never tempted Jinkx before but as the minutes slowly ticked by she increasingly began considering taking a cigarette from Sharon's hidden stash and hiding out back for the rest of the night. Then to her relief, the shop's bell rang for the first time in the last 15 minutes and revealed Katya filing in with both Courtney and Willam close behind her. She looked tired and unhappy at first, then downright miserable as soon as she spotted Trixie at the far end of the room.

She tried to turn around and leave but to Jinkx's surprise, Willam was the one to stop her with a quick glare. Meekly, the blonde quietly made her way towards an empty set of chairs in the second to last row and sat down. Courtney sat next to her, running her hand soothingly along the younger woman's arm, while Willam hopped up on the table behind them and began tapping away at her phone. Seems she might just be there as the muscle to make sure Katya stays for the full duration of the class.

Jinkx didn't miss the note of apprehension in Katya's eyes as she glanced towards Trixie. The young blonde seemed on the verge of tears again even as she placed a scowl on her face and refused to give into the temptation of looking back at Katya. In fact, she almost seemed ready to storm out in anger.

Then like a perfectly timed force of nature herself, Sharon made her entrance from the other side of the room. Her heels clicked steadily as she crossed the shop's floor to take the empty seat by Violet's side. Jinkx was left in awe that Sharon's mere presence, wordlessly no less, had cut the chatter down to almost nothing and encouraged most of the standing attendees to take their seats and turn towards the alcove.

Bracing herself as best as she could, Jinkx swallowed her nerves and took her place at the top of the short set of stairs. At Sharon's encouraging nod, she announced with more confidence than she actually felt, "Alright everyone, please take your seats! We're going to be starting in just a minute."

To her mild shock the class actually listened and those that were previously still standing quickly found empty chairs until nearly every space had been filled. Jinkx's hands were shaking as the last person quieted down and everyone's attention became focused on her. Taking a deep breath, she began her well-practiced mini lecture, "Good evening, class. Tonight I'll be explaining some of the basics in the art of flower arrangement, as well as giving you a brief introduction to floriography, also called 'the language of flowers.'"

Taking a short pause to catch her breath before her nerves overwhelmed her, Jinkx cast her gaze around the room and settled on the friendly faces of Willam and Courtney in the back. Continuing on, the redhead emphasized, "As easy as it might seem at first to create a bouquet; there are actually a number of subtleties you need to be conscious of before you start picking flowers at random...First, you need to decide if you want your flowers to convey a particular message...If not, then you have more freedom in what you can select...however, if the message is the point of the bouquet then you need to be aware of one; what meaning each flower has and two; how that meaning can change."

Here Jinkx stopped again for a moment to gather her courage to move on with the next section of her lecture. Noticing her hesitance, Sharon gave her another reassuring nod and a small encouraging smile.

Feeling just a tad braver, she explained to the class, "For instance, not all flowers have the same meanings across cultures. An example would be the peony; in Japan it can symbolize bravery but in the US it could represent shame or anger...Even within the same culture, a meaning can change...Two people might develop their own symbolism for a plant, something apart from what the mainstream has assigned..."

Causally letting her line of sight be drawn in Trixie's direction, Jinks further elaborated, "Another example of how this practice can get tricky is that depending on the color being used, a flower's message could also be altered. Take for instance a rose..."

At this Trixie perked up in her seat, her eyes catching Jinkx's for a brief moment before the redhead moved on. "Most people know that a rose is usually used to symbolize love or affection...and typically those roses are going to be red...But if someone where to give say, a white rose, that could mean 'purity' or 'innocence' or even 'secrecy'...Blue has been interpreted by some as 'mysterious' while pairing red and white together can symbolize 'unity' or 'solidarity'."

Flicking her eyes back in Katya's direction, Jinkx found the blonde eagerly listening to what she was saying as the gears noticeably began turning inside her head.

Almost reluctantly, Jinkx went on to explain in a serious manner, "Even just a single color can have different or conflicting meanings...

Yellow for instance..." she added in pointedly, "can sometimes mean 'friendship' or 'joy' and other times it could mean 'betrayal' or even be used for an apology...There are times when you have to look at the other flowers in the bouquet to figure what message the sender is really trying to convey..."

Very deliberately, more than she ought to, Jinkx turned her attention strictly towards Trixie, and stated gently, "It can be easy to assume the worst, especially if you are unsure of their feelings...that's why it's necessary not to rely on the flowers alone."

Shifting her sight back on Katya, the redhead suggested, "You can include a note with the bouquet or better yet, just _talk_ with the person you are giving the flowers to...Though it might seem romantic or safe at first to leave an arrangement for them to find on their own...it can lead to a misunderstanding...especially if you're not really explaining how you actually feel."

Letting her eyes roam over the rest of the class, she warned, "Part of why using floriography fell out of practice was because there was so much ambiguity involved with plants and their meanings. It can be fun sending secret messages back and forth but both parties need to understand and agree on what meaning they are assigning to each plant..." Motioning towards the flowers and plants around her, Jinkx added, "Tonight you all will be creating your own bouquets with a special message of your own choice...On the tables you'll find a list of all the flowers we have available for you to use and their more common meanings...Take a minute to review the list and then come up here in a single file line to select your flowers..."

As a number of the students began talking amongst themselves about what to select, Jinkx noticed that both Katya and Trixie were staring at one another with an interesting mix of emotions expressed across their faces. Katya was apologetic and fidgety, clearly understanding just what had gone wrong with the bouquet she had selected for Trixie. As for the young woman in question, there seemed to be a twinge of guilt in her eyes as she nervously bit the inside of her lip. To her credit, it looks as though the thought that the bouquet might have been the result of an innocent mistake occurred to her as well. Now she just had to decide how to react to it...

After what felt like hours of shifting her attention between the two women and the growing crowd of attendees in the alcove, Jinkx was able to let out a soft sigh of relief as the pair broke eye contact to stare pensively at the papers in front of them. All that was left was to wait and see if the seeds she had planted in their minds would take root and motivate them to finally talk with one another.

With one final piece of advice for the rest of the class as they began carrying their flowers back to their station, Jinkx called out, "And don't forget to pick up some of the filler plants on your way back as well; you're going to need more than you think!"

**********

Nearly two hours later, the class was concluding and Jinkx had never felt more relieved in her life. Though Trixie and Katya still had yet to talk to each other, she was quick to take notice of what flowers each woman had used in her bouquet. For her part Katya gave the white, yellow and pink themed bouquet a second chance, this time making sure that the flowers used were ones that truly represented how she felt.

As for Trixie, her bouquet was a bit louder, having shoved in rain lilies, chrysanthemums and of course, plenty of rue until the vase was overflowing from all sides. But despite how ardent she seemed to be to apologize, she hadn't quite dared to look over in Katya's direction for over an hour. Not since a round of bickering was heard from Courtney and Willam regarding the dirty blonde's more imaginative use for the flowers...

And to Jinkx's amusement, both Violet and Sharon were working on their own bouquets...

She had to admit, they did look a lot better than their previous attempts when she first began working there. Violet's bouquet was finished already, focusing not so much on the flowers' meanings but simply on what looked good. As for Sharon; she was still toying with most of her flowers, occasionally taking apart the bouquet as though the arrangement she had begun wasn't good enough. For right now, it still remained half finished at her table before she gave up to join Jinkx in the alcove. Though she hid her intentions better than Jinkx had, she also seemed to be just as curious as to what would happen next with the pair of young blondes.

Taking the increased chatter from the crowd as a cue to wrap things up, Jinkx announced, "It looks like pretty much everyone has finished their bouquets so let's call it a night...Please feel free to take your arrangements home with you...you can keep them for yourselves, give them to someone else-"

"Whatever gets you out of here quicker," Sharon mumbled under her breath until Jinkx elbowed her in the side a little.

The redhead was giving her mild scolding look until a loud call of "Bill!" caught their attention.

"What are you doing?" the blonde demanded with fiery red cheeks as the dirty blonde dragged her towards the exit.

Though she was trying her best to sound outraged, Jinkx noticed that she was hardly putting up a fight. She missed most of what Willam had said in response but the last few words seemed to be '-home with me.'

Whatever she had said quickly shut Courtney up and with only a few additional words she allowed herself to be ushered away from the shop walking hand in hand with the dirty blonde. As they left a few stray flowers and petals fell from Courtney's hair onto the shop floor.

'Great,' Jinkx thought sarcastically, 'More to clean up.'

"She's going to be late tomorrow," Sharon commented with a hint of knowing smile on her lips.

Before Jinkx could find the brain power to question that little scene further, she found her attention being drawn back to Katya as Violet all but shoved her in Trixie's direction. Her hands were clasped nervously around her vase and even from the distance, Jinkx could see the flowers shaking as she held it out to Trixie. At almost the same time, the young blonde had extended her own bouquet towards Katya, stopping just an inch or two short before they otherwise would have knocked against one another.

Giving a nervous laugh, Trixie pushed back a lock of hair and shyly offered a few muffled words that Jinkx would have bet anything were an apology. Straining to hear the conversation as most of the crowd began to exit the building, it seemed that Katya had fallen prey to her nervous nature and was blurting out anything that came to mind. Jinkx was almost rushing down to cut in and help her out but Sharon's firm hold on her shoulder stopped her before she was even able to move an inch. The look the older blonde gave her clearly said, 'Trust her...she can handle this.'

Nodding, Jinkx held her tongue and watched as Trixie's expression shifted from one of stunned silence to fond understanding. Setting her vase on the table beside them, she pushed Katya's out of the way and clasped a hand over her mouth to stop the onslaught that had been rapidly spilling from her lips. The older woman's eyes were wide as she quickly shut herself up and waited for Trixie to make the next move. If it were possible, Jinkx would swear that she saw Katya's hands close ever tighter around her vase as she heard Trixie state with perfect clarity, "I _like_ you...Do you like me?"

Immediately Katya was nodding her head and it was a small guess to say she was trying to speak again even though Trixie's hand still cut off any sound she might have made. Unconcerned with what the elder blonde might be saying, she instead asked, "The other bouquets, did you mean them...what the flowers said?"

Even from the distance Jinkx could hear the emphatic muffled "Yes" that escaped through Trixie's fingers. Smiling even brighter, the young woman asked her final questions even as the pink slowly rose behind her heavy makeup, "Do you want to go grab a coffee? Talk this out some more?"

With her eyes beginning to shine from many unshed tears, Katya eagerly nodded her head and no sooner had Trixie's hand left her mouth could Jinkx see a matching smile on her lips. If anything it might have been even wider than Trixie's as she showed off her teeth smeared with just a hint of her smudged ruby lipstick.

Whatever the pair said following that was unheard but Jinkx's heart fluttered as she saw them finally exchanging their bouquets and exit the shop holding hands much like Willam and Courtney had done earlier. They were hardly past the door before Sharon stated casually, "I think they're gonna be okay."

"Yeah," Jinkx replied happily, "I think so, too."

The next half hour flew by as Violet, Ivy, Sharon and Jinkx cleaned up the shop. There was a bit of a mess on the floor here and there, mostly from plucked leaves or cut stems, but between four people the work was soon finished. All that remained was a single table still filled with the miscellaneous flowers Sharon had intended to use for her bouquet. She finally returned to finishing her arrangement under the watchful eye of Jinkx now that there was nothing else in the shop for her to be concerned with.

Jinkx was watching her with an amused smile for several minutes as she placed the unused flowers with the rest of the shop's stock for tomorrow. Hardly noticing until they were almost out the door, Ivy and Violet made a near silent exit now that everything had been mostly taken care of. On her way out, the youngest owner caught Jinkx's attention as the bell rang and jutted her head meaningfully towards the area Sharon was working at. Confused, Jinkx raked her eyes across the table until a very misplaced flower caught her attention; a lone gardenia sitting off by the far corner well away from everything Sharon was currently working with.

Feeling a light blush on her cheeks, she gave Violet a quick nod and moved closer to her boss's side.

"Sharon?" she called out as her fingers began toying with one of the broken stems left sitting out. As soon as the blonde turned her head up, Jinkx apologized, "I'm sorry, you were completely right before...I should have listened to you."

With a forgiving smile, Sharon paused in her work and reassured her young assistant, "You meant well...It was a cute idea."

"I promise, no more meddling," the redhead stated resolutely.

Chuckling just a little before resuming her task, Sharon replied, "Good, glad to hear it."

Still playing with the stem in her hand, Jinkx's eyes drifted to the singular gardenia still sitting out as she mustered her courage to ask softly, "So which is your favorite?...Flower, I mean?"

Shrugging, Sharon replied mildly, "Haven't really thought about it before."

"You've got time now..." the redhead trailed off as she flicked the stem into the trash and shyly slid one of the leftover lists across the table.

"I guess..." Sharon drawled out after a short pause to review the options, "I kind of identify with daffodils...They fit me."

Jinkx felt her throat tense as she recalled all of the meanings she had listed beside the picture of the bright yellow flower. Her cheeks were slowly heating up but she couldn't find the words to speak. She just prayed she wasn't overthinking what was happening.

"What do you think?" Sharon asked as she motioned towards her now finished bouquet.

Withdrawing from her head space, Jinkx studied the arrangement Sharon had worked so hard on for most of the night. Unsurprisingly there was a healthy amount of jonquil in the vase but also a number of toadflax and foxglove. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she decided to take a chance and replied, "It looks great...Just needs a little something more..."

Spinning around, Jinkx dashed up to the alcove and swiftly pulled out some of the leftover greenery from its temporary storage container in the basin of water. Placing a few strategic pieces in amongst the other flowers, Jinkx met Sharon's curious gaze and mentioned softly, "Ambrosia..."

Sharon's eyes darted back to the sheet but as she scanned for the meaning of the flower, Jinkx wrapped her hand around Sharon's and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. Stepping back she found her boss looking almost as pink as Katya had been earlier. Her eyes were wide as she tried to interpret just what to make of her young assistant's actions. As Jinkx saw Sharon's gaze drop back to the list in front of her, she cleaned up the rest of the workspace around Sharon and began walking towards the door. Almost at the frame she called out to her still shocked boss, "See you tomorrow."

It sounded more like a question but all she could focus on was how fast her heart was racing in her chest. As she started pushing the door open, the bell sounded once more and Sharon shot up from her seat like she'd been electrocuted. With her voice shaking from nerves, the blonde rapidly babbled, "Hey, Jinkx? Do you want to go grab a drink? Right now?"

"Like a date?" she inquired with a hopeful smile.

"Like a date," Sharon confirmed with a relieved grin of her own as she caught up with the redhead.

Biting back the smile from overtaking her face she replied with a simple heartfelt, "I'd love to."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wonder what happened in sharon's apartment after Courtney and Willam's fight? No? Well here it is anyway!
> 
> is this mini chapter important for the plot?  
> \- ehh, maybe?  
> is it necessary to read this before the true final chapter?  
> \- absolutely not  
> did i plan for this be part of the finale since the very beginning?  
> \- sure, why not? prove otherwise.
> 
> tbh it was only supposed to be touched on in the final chapter but as i was mapping out the story (i.e. just playing out dialogue in my head on the drive to work) the whole scene in sharon's apartment began to unfold until it turned into this. it's not nearly as long or as detailed as other chapters so i don't really consider it as anything other than filler with a little bit of smut for smut's sake. let's just call it bonus content.
> 
> side note: i'm hoping to have the final chapter done next week though!

The hand resting in the curve of her back was comforting...familiar. Something Willam absolutely needed right now to keep her grounded. She was just so pissed off that she was barely holding it together as Sharon led her into her apartment. Silently the pair sat on the couch side by side as Willam struggled not to break down. Her body was trembling with anger as she replayed every word and syllable of that fight on a loop. With every revisit she felt her rage festering just a little more inside of her. It was hardly a surprise when Sharon found a damp cheek pressed against her neck only a few minutes after they had sat down.

Every now and then a tremor would run through Willam's core as silent tears continued to stream down her face. She had said horrible things to Courtney...and Courtney replied in kind. Though she loved when they engaged in their playful bickering, she hated when the conversation would devolve into an actual fight. And this was certainly the worst one they've had yet. Everything, her head, her heart, her body; it all just hurt as she sat crying on Sharon's couch. The blonde had immediately pulled her close having known from years of experience when to recognize when Willam simply needed to be held even if she'd never ask for it. It was hard seeing her friend so upset, she could scarcely remember the last time she saw Willam shed a tear. It must have been ages ago...

A soft sniffle caught her attention and shortly after she found the dirty blonde pulling away ever so slightly. Her eyes were red and makeup smeared in drying streaks down her cheeks. Sharon was sure there must be some evidence of that on her neck, if not on her clothes as well, but that was the least of her concerns right now.

Every bit of her attention was on the vulnerable young woman in her arms staring up at her with wide eyes and a quivering bottom lip. Her expression made her look so young and innocent that it was hard to believe she was the same woman that would proudly brag about her sexual conquests regardless of who was around her. Sharon thought she was imagining it at first when Willam's sight flickered to her lips for a brief second then back up to meet her sympathetic gaze.

Very slowly, Willam was leaning in with hooded eyes until there was less than a millimeter of space between them. She held her position there just long enough for Sharon to practically taste the peppermint lingering on her breath before Willam's lips brushed against hers. The dirty blonde's hand quickly found its way to the back of Sharon's head and kept her there as she began to work her mouth against the older woman's in a desperate fashion.

She sat frozen for a moment in pure shock; they hadn't done this in months after all but soon she found herself kissing back. She was as hesitant as Willam was insistent. Something about this felt so right yet still so wrong as she allowed Willam to climb carefully into her lap. Her hands made their way to Willam's hips and a storm of memories from the first time they slept together came flooding into her mind.

They had been drinking quite heavily that night and were just on the cusp of being downright drunk by the time they found their way to Sharon's then-apartment. That had been almost three years ago, the thought of one day owning half of a flower shop hadn't even crossed Sharon's mind yet as she fell into bed with one of her closest friends. They were laughing about all of their misadventures earlier that evening as well as any other stupid little thing that happened to spill from their mouths. Sharon was curled into the younger woman laughing just because her friend was. Even though she loved to make fun of it, Willam's laugh, especially when it got to the point of snorting, was one of her favorite sounds in the world. And the alcohol in her system only made her appreciate it even more at the moment.

She wasn't sure what thought had caused her to do it, maybe it was even a response to something Willam had just said, but somehow Sharon found herself licking a playful broad stripe up the side of Willam's neck. She meant for it to gross Willam out, she distinctly remembered that, yet for some reason the reaction she received had been far different than what was intended.

The dirty blonde shivered at the contact and her laughter died soon after Sharon's tongue had left her skin. When Sharon pulled back to debate if she should apologize or not, she found a light flush rising to Willam's cheeks. Her eyes were dark and her breathing was getting heavy as she took a tense swallow and stared longingly at the older blonde. Very deliberately, Sharon leant down again and licked another slow and lazy trail from Willam's clavicle up to the corner of her jaw.

Willam was biting her lip by the time Sharon pulled away but she made no motion or noise to indicate that wanted Sharon to stop. Lowering her lips back to Willam's skin, she placed a soft kiss at the same spot she left off on and traveled across her face until their lips were just touching one another. Willam was the first to make a move; crashing their mouths together roughly as though she were taking all of the energy she had built up over the night and focusing it on Sharon.

Placing herself over top of the young woman, Sharon returned the passion and allowed her hands to find their way beneath Willam's exceedingly short dress. The panties were barely pulled aside before Sharon was tracing the first finger along Willam's folds. Almost like a switch Willam had turned into a vocal, needy mess that was desperate for Sharon's touch. She loved the sense of control she had over the young woman even when she was barely doing anything. The slight dip of her finger into the warmth left Willam pleading for more. In only a few minutes and a mere two fingers, she had Willam shaking beneath her and promising anything she wanted just for a little bit of relief.

Sharon would comply to the request for a few seconds, bringing her just close enough to the edge that she could taste it before relaxing her speed and drawing her back like it was nothing. Willam was alternating between trying to keep her dignity by biting back any further begging and just giving into Sharon completely. Her body felt like it was getting worked to the limit and back but it was never quite enough to provide the release she needed. It was no surprise that Sharon could be quite the tease when she wanted to be.

But finally the blonde consented to finish the job and ran her thumb in alternating circles along Willam's clit as her fingers continued to stroke her G-spot. Willam only lasted another minute or so before she came apart entirely under Sharon's touch. It was everything she wanted it to be after such long and dry night. Her chest heaved as she slowly came down from cloud nine and back to reality.

Sharon watched her the entire time, amazed at how she almost looked angelic in those few short moments of pure bliss. But all of that changed once Willam flipped their positions and smirked devilishly as she spread Sharon's thighs in order to claim her own prize. Neither of them was quite sure the next morning of how many times they had came before calling it quits. They certainly had been loud enough given the complaints from both the neighbors and building super over the next day and a half. They could honestly say they never really expected it to happen again yet only two weeks later they found their way to Willam's bed with almost the same results.

Any activity they participated in behind closed doors never had any effect on their relationship so they were content to let things be. After Sharon found Jinkx she couldn't shake the twinge of guilt she felt even after just a small kiss and within a few months of Jinkx's hire they had decided to call the whole thing off. It was just as well and Willam didn't seem to mind; she could find others easily and often times she did just that...at least until Courtney came along.

Yet here they were again; starting to go at it just like they had been only a few months ago. Sharon's hands resting on Willam's hips as their bodies were pushed together just felt so natural to both of them. If the circumstances were different Sharon might have just allowed herself to fall back into their old routine and take Willam to bed with her once more. But at the forefront of her mind she knew this wasn't like their situation only a year ago; this had to stop for both of their sake. So when Willam pulled away with hazy, distracted eyes and whispered an imploring, "Please...fuck me," Sharon immediately knew her answer.

With absolute determination in her mind, she shook her head and stated firmly, "No."

That one simple word seemed to shatter Willam's world and never before could Sharon recall the young woman looking so broken. Her eyes were beginning to flood with new tears and she just seemed so small and helpless in Sharon's hold. It was almost enough to make her give in right there but she knew they'd regret it later if she allowed herself to succumb to a moment of temptation.

Carefully pushing the lean body off of her lap, Sharon gingerly told her, "You're mad at Courtney, I get that...But this isn't the way to deal with it-"

Willam's face morphed into one of utter frustration as she shouted, "But she fucked Katya! She-"

"She doesn't know what that meant to you," Sharon interjected with an air of rationality. The news was quite a shock to her but she could ponder over that later. Comforting Willam was her first and only priority right now. "Trying to one-up her won't change or fix anything...it's only going to screw you both over in the end."

Willam was desperately trying to fight back a fresh slew of tears but the instant Sharon wrapped her arms around the young woman again everything broke free. She was a fully sobbing mess as she buried herself in Sharon's hold knowing that the older woman wouldn't breathe a word of this to anyone, not even Violet. She could let her guard down completely as every one of those overwhelming emotions spilled out of her in an ugly, pitiful display of weakness.

"I hate her!" Willam cried into Sharon's chest, "I hate her so fucking much right now!"

Running her hand along the young woman's back, Sharon murmured, "I know, honey. And that's okay...Be angry as long as you need to. I'll be here whenever you want to vent."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and if anyone was reading this while i was doing my housekeeping - i'm really sorry. usually i have this more edited before posting but i literally wrote it the day of posting and reviewed it like once that same day. i think i've caught the majority of the mistakes now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my god it's finally done.  
> this fucking thing took so long to write and i'm actually pretty proud of that. without a doubt (aside from a half-finished story that i stopped due to some fandom issues that arose during its creation) this is most time i've put into a story. it changed quite a bit from how i originally intended it but i'm still pretty damn happy with how it all turned out.  
> i'm about 95% sure i will do a follow up to show the Shinkx and Trixya dates but that's not going to be for a bit of time i think. i'm gonna take a break from this series for awhile and focus on some other fics i want to write. pretty sure the next pairing is going to be Rajadore...and then Rajila after that...and maybe a return visit to Rajalaskam. i'm on a Raja kick, what can I say? but for now, enjoy.

When Jinkx explained their spontaneously decided plan, Courtney was a bit hesitant. Organizing a class to make the same kind of bouquets that got them into this mess and inviting Trixie and Katya to attend at the same time? It seemed rather like a bad idea but deep down Courtney secretly loved the romanticism of the proposal. She kept her concerns to herself and offered Jinkx and Ivy help in any way that she could think of. Still she couldn't help but feel that it was incredibly unlikely for this plan to actually work. It was quite cliche but maybe with just a pinch of luck they could pull this off anyhow.

Since Jinkx and Ivy were busy constructing the lesson plan and tracking down all of the supplies needed for the class, Courtney took to advertising it. Of course her first thought was to spread the word around Katya's campus. That seemed to be the mostly likely place to find interested participants. A small part of her toyed with the idea of handing out fliers, perhaps even near the library but she wasn't ready to see Trixie yet. She knew if she saw her before Saturday she'd end up making things worse by trying to talk to her...and of course she might catch onto the plan if she knew one of Katya's friends works at the shop.

Instead Courtney reached out to the campus Facebook page and received permission to make a quick post inviting students to attend the fast-approaching course. If nothing else, it would make it seem more legitimate to Trixie and surely at least a few people would decide to attend from that post alone. Courtney also spread news of the class by word of mouth and received a few promises from some of her own friends that they would either stop by or encourage others to do so. Hopefully, there'll be enough people to make this look like less like a spur of the moment decision and Trixie won't notice anything out of the ordinary.

With the advertising taken care of, now came the difficult part; ensuring Katya would be attending as well. Though Courtney made herself sound confident when she told Jinkx she could get the younger blonde to the shop without an issue; it turned out to be much easier said than done.

Ever since the scene at the library, Katya had been pretty down on herself. She was hardly leaving the apartment aside from classes or a show and she had stopped frequenting at the library entirely. Though she hadn't mentioned it, Courtney suspected she was actively avoiding anywhere she might see Trixie and even for their shared classes, it'd be a short guess to say she was probably sitting well on the opposite side of the room from the young woman.

As for her studying, if you can call staring blankly at a page for ten minutes at time 'studying', Katya just didn't seem as enthusiastic about it as she had been before. Literature had always been her passion and even studying from textbooks was still fascinating to her yet now it seemed all of that previous spark had disappeared. She was listless and far from her normal energetic self, clearly still thinking about Trixie and not her projects. It hurt to see someone previously so happy and optimistic as broken as this. Even a slight hint of anything related to Trixie caused her eyes to cloud with longing and regret. Silently, Courtney made a wish almost every night that on Saturday everything would be fixed.

On the day of the class, Courtney had been assigned to work the opening shift as this would give her time to head back to her apartment to pick up Katya and make sure she found her way to the shop. At first everything seemed fine; the store was busy so there was hardly time to think about anything other than the customers and fulfilling the day's orders. That all changed once Jinkx had arrived to start her own shift. They were only together for about an hour due to the sheer number of customers in the shop that she, Ivy and Violet couldn't handle alone, but just seeing the redhead, never mind not even discussing the class that night, caused Courtney's stomach to drop and a heavy worry rested on her shoulders even after she was finally able to leave following her shift.

Up until that day, Courtney had been careful not to mention any of the plan to Katya. It was unlikely that she would agree if she knew about it beforehand and would probably arrange to be elsewhere for the duration of the class. At least the one thing Courtney could rely on was that Katya would be at the apartment when she arrived. Her classes were already finished for the day and Courtney doubted she'd want to be anywhere else right now.

The moment Courtney walked into the apartment she heard soft music seeping through Katya's closed door. Unsurprisingly it was yet another sad song about heartbreak that she loved to torture herself to as of late. Very gently, Courtney knocked on the door and waited until she received a word of acknowledgment before entering. Like she had so many other days this week, Courtney immediately made her way to Katya's bed and pulled the dejected young woman into her arms. As part of their new routine, Katya rested her head in the crook of Courtney's neck and let out a sad little sigh.

Running her hand up and down Katya's back, Courtney asked how her day had gone and made their typical small talk until Katya finally ran out of things to say. Even though there was still a few hours before the class would be starting, Courtney knew she'd have to begin introducing the idea of going out tonight as soon as possible. With enough pleading and puppy eyes, Courtney felt mostly assured of herself to be able to get Katya to agree to go to the shop with her. Under normal circumstances, it'd probably take only a few minutes before the blonde would give in but Courtney had a feeling that right now, she'd probably need every hour she has at her disposal.

"Katy..." she drew out with a slight whine in her tone, "I was thinking we should go out tonight, have a little fun, you know?"

Buried her face into Courtney's neck, she tightened her grip around the older blonde's waist and replied, "I wanna just stay here and mope."

"Come on," Courtney insisted, "We need to get you out of this head-space-"

"-I like this head-space!" Katya interrupted.

"It's not healthy though," the older blonde argued. "We don't have to do anything big...could go to a movie, eat dinner...Jinkx has her first arrangement course tonight."

Katya gave a muffled groan of acknowledgment but no other noise indicating that she'd agree to go. Knowing it'd probably be most effective to try and guilt the younger woman into attending, Courtney mentioned, "I'm sure it'd mean a lot if we both were there; she worked so hard on it."

But Katya would not budge on the issue. For the next hour and a half, Courtney continued to make comments specifically designed to play at the blonde's heartstrings. A few of her favorites included variations of "We don't even know how many people are going to show up...", "I hope there's at least a few who attend", and of course; "It'd be a shame for everything to go to waste."

Slowly progress was being being made; Katya couldn't stand to look at her or the soft, pleading eyes Courtney threw her way every five minutes. Still though, she had yet to yield to Courtney's request. If only Courtney had a little more time she was sure she could break Katya's resistance...But the class started in an hour! Was all this effort really going to be for nothing?

A knock was heard on the apartment door and though Courtney was tempted to ignore it in favor of continuing to persuade Katya, proper etiquette compelled her to see who it was and what they needed. It was quite a surprise to find Willam on the other side looking just a tad amused with a lazy smirk on her face. Feeling herself flush a little bit, Courtney let out a surprised gasp and said, "Oh! What are you doing here?"

"Hey, princess," Willam called out to Courtney's annoyance. Once she earned an eye roll from the older woman, she stated, "Vi mentioned you might have some trouble trying to get Katya out of the apartment."

"And she sent you to help?" Courtney asked doubtfully.

With a secretive and far from reassuring smile, Willam declared, "I volunteered."

"Uh-huh...should I ask why?" the blonde said with a heavy layer of suspicion in her voice.

Patting the shorter woman's head, Willam invited herself into the apartment and rebuffed her friend, "Don't worry your pretty little head with the details."

As Willam made her way to Katya's bedroom, Courtney couldn't help but feel a heavy dose of apprehension as to what Willam's intentions were. Although if it gets Katya to the shop, how much should she really complain? It was getting down to the wire after all.

Perhaps too closely, Courtney followed behind the dirty blonde as she entered Katya's room without even an attempt to announce her presence beforehand. The look on Katya's face was truly a study and a little yelp could be heard right before she pulled the sheets up over her wide eyes. Curling into a tight ball, the blonde huddled beneath the covers as Willam marched right up to the side of the bed with a disturbingly devilish grin on her face.

"Uh-uh," she taunted as she pulled away the covers with little effort. "None of that."

"Willam-" Courtney worriedly began to interject until the dirty blonde shot her a quick look.

"Outside," she commanded in a no-nonsense tone. "I'm gonna have a little chat with her for a minute."

Immediately Courtney found herself obeying and was sprinting past the door as she pointedly ignored Katya's call of 'Traitor!' on the way out.

Reluctantly closing the door, Courtney all but pressed her ear to the faux wood in an attempt to hear what Willam was saying to her roommate. It was a short guess to imagine that she was probably scolding the young blonde for her pitiful behavior and demanding for her to get her act together. There were a few muffled sounds from Katya as though she were trying to defend herself but Willam refused to listen to any such excuses. In what seemed to be no time at all, the pair were exiting Katya's room with Willam ushering the very harassed looking young woman towards the bathroom with a change of clothes in hand.

"Okay, okay," the blonde insisted as she entered the communal washroom, "I can do this part myself!"

"And if you don't come out looking half-decent, I'm fixing it for you!" Willam threatened as the door closed in front of her. Courtney had little doubt that she meant it. More than once Willam had forcefully fixed her own makeup before entering a club so that Courtney 'wouldn't embarrass her with more lipstick on her teeth than her face.'

There was very little chit-chat as the pair waited for Katya to reemerge from the bathroom. Courtney had taken to nervously braiding her hair to keep from constantly checking the time on her phone. More than once Willam had pounded on the door and shouted a few encouraging phrases to the young woman including 'Hurry the fuck up!' and 'We haven't got all night!' and a rather harsh, 'It's Spackle on sandpaper; it doesn't have to be perfect!'

To her credit Katya was finished in just over 20 minutes. Her makeup had been touched up greatly and her hair looked less like a tangled mess of flyaways and curls. Even the outfit Willam had undoubtedly selected for her looked much better than what Katya was likely going to wear. Somehow the dirty blonde managed to find the least gaudy clothes that Katya had owned and created a cute, casual little outfit that she could both show off and work in. Sadly, Courtney got very little chance to compliment her roommate before Willam was rushing them all out the door in order to make it to the shop on time.

As Courtney pulled Katya from the car, she made a quick note that Willam was actually putting money into the meter again. She flashed a quick smile to the dirty blonde as they made their way to the shop front. Understandably they had been the last people to arrive. If you had asked Courtney how many people she would have expected to show up, she probably would have said perhaps 15 or so at the most...that guesstimate was nowhere close to the actual number!

Ivy and Jinkx had somehow managed to fit and divide up 15 tables into three rows on the shop's floor and provide chairs for all of the attendees. Most of the tables had between three and four people sitting or standing nearby and needless to say; the building was utterly packed. Luckily there still seemed to be a few empty spaces towards the back but aside from that it was safe to say the class was pretty much at full capacity. Courtney was starting to push Katya towards the open chairs but a sudden resistance caused her to stop dead in her tracks. Katya had stood frozen just a few steps past the door and an immensely unhappy groan passed through her lips. Without even having to ask, Courtney could guess that Katya had spotted Trixie at the other end of the room. Her hair was a bit hard to miss after all...

It was no surprise that Katya had almost immediately turned around to leave but a quick glare from Willam sent her meekly shuffling towards the empty table near the back of the first aisle. As they sat down, Courtney ran her hand over Katya's arm and muttered a few comforting words to console the younger woman who was less than subtly stealing a glance Trixie's way. She was looking so utterly miserable that they both were here at the same time and undoubtedly was regretting having shown up at all. While Willam hopped on the table behind them and typed away on her touch screen, Courtney snuck a quick look of her own over towards Trixie. She seemed to feel as out of place and unhappy as Katya yet unlike everyone else; she had no one with her to make sure she stayed for the duration of the class. She was clutching at her knee as though she were debating getting up and leaving but to Courtney's relief Sharon emerged from the break room and her mere presence caused the mindless chatter to lighten significantly.

"About time she showed up," Willam grumbled as she put away her phone.

Vaguely Courtney thought the two might have been in communication with each other but she didn't have the attention span to question it. She was too focused on keeping Katya calm until Jinkx could move forward with their plan. To any of the other attendees who didn't know her, it would have looked like Jinkx was the picture of poise and relaxation but Courtney wasn't fooled. She knew Jinkx was a nervous wreck on the inside but Sharon's little nod of encouragement as she began her opening speech seemed to calm some of that inner turmoil.

While Jinkx ran through her lecture, beginning with vague introductions to floriography then onto more specific examples, Courtney couldn't help but to inwardly cringe at how overt she was being...at least towards the two people this really mattered for. She never would have had the courage that Jinkx had to actually look Trixie and Katya dead in the eye as she all but told them exactly what had gone wrong with the bouquet. She used examples directly taken from that fated arrangement for the class but at least it served its purpose.

As Jinkx's sight traveled elsewhere, Courtney saw a look of realization that passed over Trixie's face as she finally got the message. Her cheeks flushed with guilt and embarrassment as she slunk into her seat. As for Katya, she sat in a meditative state for quite some time. Courtney had yet to fully explain the details of what was incorrect with the bouquet but it seemed Katya was well on her way to figuring it out anyhow. While Jinkx was finishing her speech, Katya turned to Courtney for confirmation as she asked softly, "It was because I asked Ivy to use yellow and white flowers, wasn't it?"

Nodding her head, Courtney replied defensively, "She was following a cheat sheet...some of the meanings on the insert weren't listed there and-"

"Like what yellow roses can mean?" Katya interrupted with an unusually pensive tone.

"Yeah..."

With that Katya fell back into a state of deep thought, letting her line of sight drift back to Trixie. The younger woman seemed to sense that she was being watched and shifted her head to find an apologetic Katya staring at her. To Courtney's relief, Trixie appearing to be feeling quite a heavy dose of guilt for automatically assuming the worst with the bouquet Katya had given her. Jinkx's less than subtle lecture had definitely struck a chord with her. Though Courtney would have loved to see them talking it out then and there, each tore away their gaze and focused their attention on the sheets of paper sitting on each of the tables.

Jinkx had taken the liberty of producing and distributing a more in-depth cheat sheet of various flowers and their meanings, including the negative connotations this time. It was in Courtney's nature to want to offer Katya help with her bouquet but after the last time she forced her assistance...well, it landed them here. Instead she asked quietly, "What are you going to do?"

Very determined, Katya looked up from the paper and replied, "I'm gonna remake that bouquet...the last one I gave her...I'm gonna do it right this time."

Smiling brightly, Courtney encouraged her, "I think that's a very good plan."

*******

Katya had studied the cheat sheet far longer than Courtney had expected her to, undoubtedly trying to make sure that this one would truly explain how she felt. When she finally felt ready to select her flowers, Willam joined her in the walk to the alcove. Courtney had taken this opportunity to study Trixie just a little bit further. She had already made her trip to pick up the flowers and was now staring intensely at the pile in front of her. Of course the first flowers that caught her eye were the vibrant and plentiful chrysanthemums. They certainly would take up a lot of the attention but aside from them there was a healthy amount of a smaller yellow flower; rue as Courtney soon identified. If nothing else, at least Trixie seemed to be truly apologetic about how she had reacted to the last bouquet.

What gave Courtney the most hope that this would in fact turn out for the best was a bundle of white flowers tucked away with the sparse amount of filler plants Trixie had picked up; rain lilies. Courtney didn't need to look at the paper to recall what those had symbolized. Her only prayer was that Trixie meant it in the same romantic way that Katya feels, not as a purely friendship based sentiment.

About this time, the other girls had returned from the front of the shop with their own handfuls of flowers. Surprisingly though it wasn't all for Katya to use. Willam had kept a small amount for herself as she hopped right back up on the near empty table behind Courtney.

Once everyone was in their seats once more, Willam excluded, Jinkx restarted her lecture on the basics of building a bouquet. She stressed that there was no wrong way essentially with how each person went about it; what she was teaching was only some of the techniques she had used frequently in the shop. She advised that it be decided first which of the flowers would be used as the focal point of the arrangement and flesh out the design from there. The main flowers should stand at the forefront and be the first thing the receiver's eye is drawn to. Other flowers used should compliment that decision, be it with their colors, their shape or their height difference. Everything should come together as a cohesive piece of art, something that will tell the receiver a message even if the flowers selected won't do that. It should show that time and effort went into the making of the bouquet and that the choice to give this as a gift wasn't made lightly.

Again Courtney was amazed at how natural Jinkx sounded as she offered little tips and hints to her students. It almost seemed as though her nerves had disappeared by the time she excused everyone to their work. She made it a point to walk around and offer one-on-one assistance with those who needed it but she was very careful to avoid the areas near Trixie and Katya as much as she able to. Both of them were working in earnest anyway and didn't seem to notice.

Another pair that was being surprisingly diligent in their work was Sharon and Violet. Courtney hadn't expected them to participate as well yet they appeared to be taking Jinkx's lesson to heart. Unfortunately, Sharon seemed to be getting frustrated with her bouquet and after disassembling it for the fourth time, she finally gave up to join Jinkx at the top of the alcove. Violet on the other hand was making a rather stunning bouquet focusing heavily on purple, white, and blue flowers. She threw in a touch of yellow among the filler flowers but it was clear she didn't intend for the bouquet to serve any purpose other than looking good. Ivy hung by her side chatting with her and offering little pieces of encouragement whenever a flower would fall or a stem would break from exceedingly rough handling.

As for Katya, she was very much focused on her own bouquet trying get everything to lay in the vase just right. Every so often Courtney would provide a bit of advice like placing a sturdier flower beneath a smaller one to help hold it up higher but for the most part she was content to just watch. Gradually she was slipping off into her own head-space until the brush of something against her neck jolted her back to reality.

An embarrassingly loud startled noise escaped her, thinking at first that it had been a bug crawling on her until she heard the soft 'Whoops' that slipped out from the woman behind her. Turning around in her seat, she found Willam looking far too innocent to be sincere. Her eyes raked up and down the young woman's body as Willam practically dared her to try accusing her of something. It almost worked until Courtney's eye caught sight of the flower still in Willam's possession.

At once her own hand flew to the back of her head and to her irritation it almost immediately made contact with something that ought not to be there. Rolling her eyes, she clutched at the flower that had been stuck in her braid and yanked it out for confirmation. Glaring at Willam, she huffed out far louder than she meant to, "Willam! Are you kidding me? Have you seriously been sticking flowers in my hair this whole time?"

Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, Willam partially bit back a smirk as she argued, "What? I didn't have a vase."

Narrowing her eyes at the pathetic excuse, Courtney shot back, "There's one right next to you!"

Dragging her braid over her shoulder to begin removing all of the plant life, she muttered in annoyance, "Honestly, I can't believe you sometimes-"

"Hey, Court," Katya interrupted as she placed her hand over Courtney's to stop the disassembly, "Hold on for a minute..."

Running her eyes down the length of hair, Katya stated, "It doesn't look that bad really...It's actually kind of cute..."

Feeling her cheeks flush ever so slightly, Courtney asked timidly, "Really?"

"Yeah," Katya confirmed as she pulled Courtney's hand away. Picking up the blonde's phone, she opened the camera app and murmured, "Here, hold on..."

Snapping a quick picture of Willam's work, she extended the phone back to Courtney with an ardent, "See?"

Carefully studying the image, Courtney had to agree that the arrangement, what she hadn't disturbed of it at least, did in fact look good. However, that wasn't the only detail that caught her attention. Her face began to burn as she mumbled, "Oh...um, thanks, Bill..."

She could hardly bring herself to make eye contact with Willam who thankfully seemed almost as embarrassed as she was. The dirty blonde's cheeks had also become tinted with a light pink as she shrugged her shoulders again and turned her attention to her own phone. Glancing down at the partially crushed bit of toadflax in her hand, Courtney felt her heart practically skipping beats as it hammered away in her chest. Forcing herself to fight against her nerves, she drew her line of sight up towards the dirty blonde and asked softly, "Bill...Would you mind finishing it?"

Willam's eyes darted back to her in shock but almost immediately she gave a silent nod of her head. Swiftly turning around to allow Willam to continue her work, Courtney's gaze drifted back to the image on her screen. She bit her lip as she carefully identified each of the flowers Willam had snuck into her braid without her noticing...there was toadflax of course, heliotrope, honeysuckle, and a few violets...All of them had similar meanings, surely that couldn't be a coincidence, right?

Is this what Sharon meant about the signs?

Courtney found she didn't have the courage to ask that question just yet, at least not out loud.

For the remainder of the class, she and Willam stayed largely silent towards each other. The most Courtney had said to her following the outburst was another quick 'Thanks' after she had completely finished her design. As soon as it was done, Willam took a picture of her own and sent it to Courtney for review. She swiftly turned herself away from the blonde as soon as she had received the image and refused to look at her directly for very long.

Around the same time Willam had finished, Katya had also wrapped up her own work. The bouquet looked quite good for her first attempt, perhaps a little lopsided or uneven in certain areas but still an excellent effort for someone with no experience. Once there wasn't anything further that could be added, Katya's hands found their way to the leftover stems and leaves and soon began picking them apart.

Courtney recognized the behavior immediately and returned to gently praising the younger woman for a job well done. Almost all of the other attendees had stopped working by this time as well so it was hardly out of place to hear Jinkx calling out, "It looks like pretty much everyone has finished their bouquets so let's call it a night...Please feel free to take your arrangements home with you...you can keep them for yourselves, give them to someone else-"

Something Sharon had muttered while Jinkx was speaking earned her a quick elbow in the ribs but as soon as Courtney stood up to help clean off the table, a slender hand wrapped around hers and began leading her to the door.

"Bill!" she called out in indignation as she tried to dig in her heels, "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking my bouquet home with me," she replied back firmly.

At once Courtney felt her cheeks growing hot again, particularly as she saw the determination and nervousness in Willam's eyes. She was being dead serious in her statement but still she left an opening for Courtney to decline. For a brief moment it felt like the world had stopped as Courtney gazed into her eyes and saw both the hope and fear lurking behind her hard exterior. She hardly recognized the meek, 'Okay' that had fallen past her lips until Willam was once again guiding her out of the shop. She called out a quick 'Good luck' to Katya and followed Willam back to her car.

There was little doubt Katya would inform of her of what would happen with Trixie so for now she allowed herself to push that thought out of her mind. As the pair drove through the city, Courtney took notice of the way Willam's hands were shaking as she gripped the steering wheel. It was all very reminiscent of that night Courtney had caught her in the midst of a make-out session with a woman for the first time.

The blonde absently chewed on the interior of her lip as she tried not to over-analyze the situation just yet. Just because Willam had used certain flowers over others in her hair doesn't mean that attracted to Courtney...Why would she be? They were polar opposites in most respects. They bickered like crazy at times and even fought worse than a number of couples she knew. Sure, they might kiss each other at night before they go to sleep and again when they wake up and maybe they've spent more nights than not wrapped up in each others arms...And just maybe Willam as of late has rebuked any form of sexual contact with other people but that didn't mean that she was actually attracted to _Courtney_...right?

By the time they pulled up to Willam's building complex, Courtney's head felt close to exploding as she ran through all of the scenarios for how this night could end. She had hardly realized the car had stopped until she heard Willam's quiet voice, "Court...I-"

Daring to take a chance, she mustered up her courage and interrupted in a hurried tone, "Can we go inside?"

"Um, sure," the stunned dirty blonde replied as she turned off the car.

The walk was silent but each could hear their heartbeat echoing in their ears as they slowly made their way into Willam's apartment. Courtney prayed that she wasn't reading the situation wrong as she followed Willam past the door frame. Almost as soon as the door was shut, Willam began again with an unusual hesitance, "Listen, Court..."

"The flowers," Courtney asked softly, barely able to look at her friend even as she stood only a foot in front of her, "You chose them for a reason...didn't you?"

"Maybe," Willam replied vaguely as her fingers trembled by her side.

"Just maybe?" Courtney challenged as she forced herself to look Willam in the eye and wrap her hands around one of Willam's.

The dirty blonde's gaze flickered down to the clinging grip then back up to meet Courtney's inquiring expression. Very slowly, she found herself leaning in leaving more than enough opportunity for the blonde to pull away or reject her. Stopping within an inch of their lips touching, she gave a hesitant admittance of, "Maybe more than maybe."

"Yeah?" Courtney asked hopefully as a smile grew across her face.

Returning the smile for a single second, Willam closed the gap with an almost feather-light brush of her lips against Courtney's. She held herself there for a moment debating if she should press her luck further until Courtney made the decision for her. Their lips danced together in a way that was so practiced yet still so unique from any other kiss they had shared. It was as though every concealed emotion had bubbled to the surface and forced itself to be played out as they worked their mouths in synchrony. Willam's free hand wound itself in what it could of Courtney's hair, unwilling to let her draw back until there wasn't a single bit of air left between them.

Once they were forced to break apart, Willam finally confirmed in a breathy voice, "Definitely more than maybe."

It wasn't the most eloquent declaration of attraction but god, it'll work for now.

Courtney could hardly contain the joyful smile that stretched across her face. Almost at once she reconnected their lips and let every ounce of passion she felt be poured into the new kiss. Willam was stunned by the sudden forwardness but quickly gave Courtney the access she was so desperately seeking. For a few moments they stayed in that spot, simply just letting everything be expressed by that one action, but soon enough Courtney decided that she wanted show Willam so much more tonight.

Carefully taking a step back, Courtney pulled Willam along in the direction of the bedroom until the dirty blonde finally understood what she was implying. The kiss was broken only for a moment to catch their breath then like magnets they were drawn back into each other's hold. Willam took the lead in navigating their way to her bedroom, doing her best to avoid any miscellaneous furniture or dirty laundry left lying about.

Before they even made it to the edge of the mattress, most of their own clothing joined the various piles on the floor until very little fabric remained to separate their bare skin from one another. While Courtney scooted her way onto the bed, Willam hovered closely over top of her to reaffirm through their broken kisses, "Are we really doing this?"

"Yes," Courtney asserted. "As long as you want to, too."

There wasn't even a pause before Willam's hurried response came back, "Fuck yeah..."

With that understanding, Courtney allowed Willam to crowd her down to the mattress as light fingers dragged themselves across her skin. Willam's mouth soon left hers to travel up and down the side of her neck, never settling in one place for too long before continuing further down her chest. Upon meeting the cherry blossom pink bra Courtney still had on, a small noise of annoyance fell from Willam's lips. She toyed with one of the straps for just a moment before setting her hands to work at removing the offending article.

Once it was gone, Willam's mouth quickly returned to leaving a dusting of kisses down Courtney's chest. She felt her head falling back as Willam swirled her tongue around one of her nipples, sucking gently before lapping at the growing bud. The dirty blonde's hand found its way to Courtney's other breast, massaging it expertly as she continued to work her mouth until Courtney was squirming in place. Before long she had switched sides and left Courtney all but whimpering for more contact.

Reluctantly, Willam forced herself to resume her journey down Courtney's stomach but it was at this point the Aussie decided she had enough. With little warning, she flipped them over so that Willam was the one beneath her and Courtney could take back some of the control for herself. A smirk made its way to Willam's face as she easily pushed herself into a seated position and pulled Courtney firmly into her lap. Almost at once Willam's arms were wrapped around the older woman's waist as Courtney's own rested loosely across Willam's shoulders in order tug gently at the dirty blonde hair as needed. They shared a brief kiss but after a few seconds Courtney broke the contact in order to leave her own trail of kisses across Willam's skin. Setting herself on the pulse point, Courtney marked Willam just enough for her to find what she hoped would be a decent sized love bite tomorrow. It would be highly visible the following day; just dark enough that she would need make up to cover it if she chose to do so but Courtney loved the fact that she was finally able to claim Willam as her own after waiting for so long.

Satisfied with her work, Courtney resumed tracing her lips across the overheated skin. She was grinding herself into Willam's lap hoping the dirty blonde would take the hint and give her what she needed. A hand left her waist to graze deceivingly soft fingertips across her inner thigh but they always stopped short of the one place she wanted to feel them. The most Willam would give her was a light brush against the hem of her panties but even then she would draw back after only a second.

The blonde let out a noise of impatience as she nipped Willam's neck just enough to make her jump. Undeterred, Willam made no further action and Courtney was left to rut her hips again, silently begging Willam for more. Even before Courtney had pulled away to look, she could hear the smirk in Willam's voice as she feigned innocence in asking, "What?"

A lone finger was finally running along the thin fabric of her panties but it was nowhere near enough pressure for Courtney. Trying her best not to sound like a desperate and needy mess, Courtney urged her on with an demanding, "More."

To her exasperation only one more digit was added but still Willam made no motion to remove the remaining underwear. She seemed content just to taunt Courtney through the fabric as she slowly came apart in her lap. Glaring at the dirty blonde, Courtney whined, "That's not what I meant."

Unashamedly smug, Willam captured her lips again, flicking her tongue across the seam as she pulled away to order in a hushed tone, "Then tell me what you want me to do...Come on, princess. Use your words like a good girl."

Despite every effort not to react, Courtney found her breath hitching at the phrasing and she stopped all movement as a light flush rose to her cheeks. The response didn't go unnoticed by Willam, not in the least. Skimming her lips across Courtney's collarbone, she teased, "Oh? You like it when I call you that now, huh?"

The blonde was shaking just slightly in her hold as she admitted softly, "Yes..."

She expected Willam to reply back with some sort of taunting remark but to her surprise all she received was a simple, "Good."

Almost at once her panties were pushed off to the side just enough to allow Willam's fingers to run along her inner folds. It was still a far cry what she really needed but at this point any change was welcomed from before. She could already feel the heat beginning to pool in her core as she ground down against the two digits. Willam allowed this only for a few minute or two as she laid claim to Courtney's lips once more. Small noises of restlessness escaped from the blonde's mouth to Willam's but she still seemed perfectly fine with just teasing her partner.

Every now and then Courtney felt a soft circling against her clit causing a small jolt to resonate through her body but all too quickly it would be gone and she'd be left to whine at the loss. By the time the pair tore their lips from one another, Courtney was left breathless and embarrassingly wet from what very little Willam had done to her. She could feel herself coming undone while Willam stayed perfect put together and in control of everything that was happening.

Giving in to the ache for more, Courtney tugged just slightly at Willam's hair and pleaded, "More...please, Bill."

She could see Willam dying to comply to the request but to her annoyance, the younger woman restrained herself from providing anything right away. Instead she just breathed out, "Tell me, princess...Tell me what you want me to do."

Her lips were so close to Courtney's again, she could practically feel them as they ghosted against hers with each passing word. Willam's free hand traveled up her back until it made contact with the loose and probably very messy braid. Willam deftly pulled the tie out and tossed it aside it order to run her fingers through Courtney's hair. Flowers fell onto the bed behind her but she hardly had the capacity to care about that. Her focus was on Willam's nonchalant statement of, "I can wait all night if I have to, angel."

The newest nickname finally broke what remained of Courtney's silence. Resting her forehead to Willam's, she pressed their lips together for one sweet moment before swallowing what was left of her nerves in order to beg, "Please, I want you inside me...I want it so bad. I-"

Here Willam cut her off with another kiss as her fingers withdrew from between Courtney's legs. She groaned at the loss until Willam silenced her objection with a commanding, "Take these off. Now."

Courtney wasted little time in complying, hardly leaving Willam's lap for more than a few seconds to shimmy out of her last piece of clothing before swiftly settling herself back into place. She felt so small and submissive as Willam still remained somewhat dressed but the appearance of two fingers in front of her lips soon changed that. Holding onto Willam's wrist, she drew the fingers into her mouth and began to give them a thorough coating with her tongue. She hardly felt like she needed it at this point but the way Willam watched with hazy eyes as she worked more than made up for the further delay.

By the end she might have made the display a little more obscene than she ought to as she sucked on the digits and dragged her tongue anywhere it could reach but Willam certainly wasn't complaining. She let the show go on much longer than necessary before drawing her fingers back from one heat to another.

As the first digit slipped inside, Courtney let out a sigh of much needed relief. It was finally happening and the anticipation and previous denial only made the moment so much sweeter for her. Already this situation was turning into everything she had wanted it to be.

A second finger was soon added and both crooked inside her as they avoided that one particular spot for now. Willam busied herself with placing fresh kisses across Courtney's shoulders, chest, and neck as the digits dragged their way in and out at a slow and steady pace. Courtney was pushing her hips insistently against Willam's hand as her panting began to pick up. A light sheen was breaking out across her forehead as little mewls clawed their way from her throat to Willam's awaiting ears.

Just as Courtney had opened her mouth to lick at her overly dry lips, she felt the first brush against her g-spot and a small whimper filled the room. She found herself begging for Willam to repeat that motion and to her relief the compliance was almost immediate. As Courtney's moans starting to pick up, so did Willam's fingers. It was like a nonverbal reward system; the louder Courtney became, the more insistent the pressure and speed of Willam's digits became.

Every now and then Courtney found Willam whispering a few words of encouragement in the few seconds she was able to pull her mouth away from Courtney's skin.

"You sound so beautiful, angel."

"Let the neighbors hear you, let them know who's making you scream."

"Tell me anything you want, princess."

Each call of either 'princess' or 'angel' produced a new wave of whimpering from Courtney. She could feel the pleasure building up until her hands were gripping onto Willam's shoulders so tightly her knuckles had begun to turn white. Her nails were digging into the dirty blonde's skin but she didn't seem to care about anything other than Courtney's pleas for more.

At her request a third finger was added to the slick heat. With another, a hand was pulling on her hair just so as her neck arched back. Then finally Willam's mouth was working against hers until she barely able to breath between everything that was happening to her.

It was the casual, almost careless circling of Willam's thumb against her clit that drove home the fact that Courtney wouldn't last much longer. Her ruts against Willam's fingers were no longer in sync and soon she felt the pressure in her core reaching its capacity. She gave Willam a quick warning before burying herself into the crook of her neck and closing her eyes as the sensation washed over her. It was so overpowering that Courtney couldn't stop herself from shaking as her senses became so overwhelmed and a voice she hardly recognized as her own was calling Willam's name. It took even longer still to realize the dirty blonde was once again praising how pretty she looked as she came and of course peppering in a nickname or two as a shiver passed through the blonde.

The moment she was able to organize her thoughts Courtney crashed her lips back to Willam's. The dirty blonde was eagerly responding, barely even noticing Courtney's frantic hands working on removing her bra until it was all but hanging from a single strap. The second it was gone, Courtney lips were replacing it. If anything she was more erratic than Willam had been as her lips traced across every inch of exposed skin she could find. She wanted to touch and taste Willam, to repay her for everything she had just experienced and of course, to finally indulge in those secret fantasies that lurked in the back of her mind during those nights they had spent together.

Her hands were massaging and kneading Willam's breasts, hardly able to decide where she wanted to be before her mouth was switching from side to another with little to no warning. Willam's eyes had gone hooded as Courtney covered her skin so thoroughly with her lips it felt like no part of her had been left untouched.

Moving from Willam's lap, Courtney repositioned herself as best she could on the bed to continue her path down to Willam's lean and toned stomach. The position was slightly awkward for the time being, at least until Courtney convinced her scoot closer to the edge.

Immediately Willam realized what Courtney was intending to do as she slid to the floor and reaffirmed that she was alright with going this far. Her mind was flashing back to Courtney's previous admittance of not having done very much with women before and the absolute last thing she wanted to do, especially right now, was have Courtney feel like this was something she had to reciprocate with.

But Courtney was determined either way. It might not be her area of expertise but she wanted to do this. She wanted to repay Willam and she wanted to gain that experience. After all Willam had done for her, the very least she wished for was for Willam to feel just as good.

"It's not going to be mind-blowing," she warned, "but I'll give it my best shot."

All Willam could do was nod weakly as Courtney guided her hand to her hair and spread Willam's legs apart. It was here that Courtney finally slowed down and began to take her time with the dirty blonde. Not to tease her, just to explore her body as she became familiar with this new adventure.

She pressed soft kisses to her inner thighs and across the sensitive skin of her hips. Willam was struggling not twitch or otherwise alarm Courtney with any sudden movements. Stroking the wavy blonde hair, occasionally pulling out the flowers as she found them, helped to keep herself in check. The wide eyes staring up at her sent a bubbling warmth to her stomach that left her feeling both anxious yet still craving for more.

Courtney's fingers hooked around her panties and with a little maneuvering she was able to slid them off and onto the floor. There was a tense pause as Courtney's eyes flickered up to meet Willam's and she slowly began leaning in. Willam's breath caught in her throat as she felt those delicate hands running against her thighs and spreading her just a little bit wider. All at once it was like a sudden wave came crashing down on her as a tentative lick ran against her slit.

She bit her lip to force back any noise that might try to escape but nothing could be done to stop the rising blood to her cheeks. Her fingers twitched in Courtney's hair as another more confident swipe of the blonde's tongue passed along her folds. Their eyes remained connected as Courtney slowly grew more deliberate in her actions, trying new techniques to see what kind of reaction they would evoke from Willam. It was far from experienced but damn if the enthusiasm didn't make up for it.

With her mind beginning to cloud, Willam wasn't sure if her voice was actually wavering or not as she murmured, "Good girl...Just like that."

Courtney hummed something in response and the resulting vibrations had Willam biting her lip once more. If she were standing, her legs would have been shaking at the sight alone of Courtney in front of her doing this.

"K-Keep going, princess, you're doing so good," she cooed encouragingly.

Though there was no verbal response, Willam could tell from the crinkling around Courtney's eyes that praise was really working on her. All of her energy was focused on eating Willam out like it was her job and clearly she was taking pleasure in reducing the dirty blonde to as much of a hot mess as she had been just minutes before.

Willam was being drawn closer and closer to edge yet it still remained just far enough out of her reach that it was starting to become frustrating. She wanted her release more than anything and was desperately chasing it anyway she could manage as she continued to whisper sweet compliments to Courtney.

"Use your thumb," she suggested softly as she teetered just on the brink of completely losing it.

The words were barely past her lips before she felt the circular rubbing against her clit. She had been so close before that moment that it only took a few complete cycles before she was coming apart under Courtney's touch. As the climax racked through her body, Courtney kept at her pace until she felt the hand in her hair carefully pushing her away. Taking the hint she withdrew from between Willam's legs and crawled back onto the bed beside her. She was just getting settled amongst the sheets when she felt Willam pulling her close and crashing their lips back to another.

While Willam took charge once again, making sure to lick her way thoroughly into Courtney's mouth, she had to admit that still being able to taste herself on Courtney's tongue was more of a turn on than she thought was fair. One of the Aussie's hands found its way to her cheek, cradling her gently as though she were the most fragile object in the world. It just felt so right to have Courtney's body melded into hers, she almost never wanted to leave the bed again in favor of making this moment last forever. But eventually the desire for cleanliness won out and the pair made their into the bathroom to share a quick shower. Admittedly there had been more stolen kisses than actual washing but neither had a negative word to say regarding that.

Following their bare minimum cleaning, the pair changed into some of Willam's clothes and slipped back into bed with their phones in hand. Seems that while they were busy, most of the other girls had been as well.

Courtney found her inbox blown up with messages from both Katya, Violet, and surprisingly Sharon as well. It was almost expected that Katya felt the need to inform Courtney of everything that had happened after she left the shop. The sheer amount of texts was almost daunting until Courtney realized the majority were very simple phrases, including but not limited to; 'Oh my god!'

'We're actually talking! Like normal people!'

'I think this counts as a date.'

'This is definitely a date!'

'OMG, what do I do?'

'Fuck! Why did I say that?'

'She's laughing!'

'Damn she has an awful laugh....I love it.'

'She invited me back to her place!'

'I'm going to be late coming home.'

And then finally the last text had come through not even a full eight minutes prior; 'I'm not coming home tonight.'

Courtney couldn't help but to chuckle as she read through the messages and probably very accurately pictured all the expressions Katya must have worn as she typed out each quick update. With some of the more colorfully phrased texts, Courtney read them aloud as Willam scrolled through her own inbox. Though she didn't say anything, Courtney noticed a small relieved smile on Willam's face as Courtney summarized how Katya's date seemed to have gone.

Coming upon the end of her own inbox review, Willam asked, "Did you see Violet's picture?"

Courtney shook her head stating she hasn't made it that far through her messages yet but would look for it next. Unable to wait for Courtney to find it on her own, Willam extended her phone out to the blonde. The picture had already been blown up to cover the screen and immediately Courtney recognized the interior of the shop.

Taken from only a few feet away, it seems Violet saw an opportunity to sneak a picture of Sharon and Jinkx and had not let the moment go to waste. Sharon was working on her bouquet as Jinkx hung close by on the opposite side of the table. They must have been talking because both were gazing at each other with nothing but pure affection on their faces; the kind you never really notice yourself until someone points it out. Both of them just looked so focused on one another that they were oblivious to everything else around them, particularly Ivy who appearing to be in the midst of dropping some broken stems in the background behind them.

Courtney felt a joyful grin stretching across her lips as she returned to her own phone in order to take a look at the messages from the blonde in question.

"Do you think anything'll actually happen with them?" Willam asked as she continued to smile warmly at the image on the screen.

Courtney thought to herself for a moment as she opened an attachment in Sharon's most recent message and found her answer already supplied for her. The grin she wore was alarmingly bright as she all but pushed her phone into Willam's hand and replied, "Yeah, I think so."

The dirty blonde's gaze dropped to the new image and immediately a matching smile appeared on her face. Though the picture was very simple, it gave both of the women hope that everything had in fact worked out for their friends. At the very foreground of the image were two To-Go cups of coffee and scribbled on the sides were Jinkx and Sharon's names. That alone would not have raised any eyebrows but what caught Courtney and Willam's attention lurked just at the border of the image; half cut off by the angle of the camera, the two could just make out a pair of hands locked together with intertwining fingers. It was a small guess as to who they belonged to and what that gesture was implying.

"Can't wait to see what Sharon'll have to say about that tomorrow," Willam mentioned in amusement.

Placing her phone off on the nightstand, Courtney nestled into Willam's side and admitted, "I'm just glad one of them finally made a move...It was getting frustrating just watching them dance around each other like that."

"Yeah," Willam agreed absently as she drifted off into her own thoughts. She stayed disturbingly silent for a full minute as Courtney traced mindless patterns over her outer thigh. Deciding she ought to do the right thing, Willam spoke up hesitantly, "Hey, um...I need to tell you something before we...go any further with this."

Turning her head up to look Willam in the eye, Courtney did her best to hide a growing sense of concern as she replied mildly, "Okay..."

Swallowing heavily, Willam began again with nerves tinging her voice, "When...back when we had our... _fight_...I kind of..."

"Yeah?" Courtney asked as her brows began to bunch up in worry.

"I did something that I think...I think you should know about," Willam admitted tensely.

Trying her best to remain calm and not jump to any conclusion, Courtney inquired, "What is it?"

"I...I was pissed at you and I tried to-I kissed Sharon! And if she hadn't said 'no', I would have gone much further than that. I'm sorry!" Willam confessed in sudden outburst of emotion. "I'm really sorry for what I said that day and for kissing her and trying to get back at you and-"

"Willam," Courtney interrupted as she placed a hand over Willam's forearm in order draw her attention back from her own shame. "It's okay."

Willam seem unconvinced, chewing her lip as she continued to stare guiltily down at Courtney. Vaguely the blonde wondered just how much this had been eating away at her but that question wasn't the one she needed answered. Pressing a quick kiss to Willam's cheek for reassurance, she asked seriously, "Can you forgive me for sleeping with Katya?"

Immediately the dirty blonde was nodding her head as her fingers toyed with a damp curl hanging across her shoulder. Pulling that same hand into hers, Courtney informed her quite sincerely, "Then of course I can forgive you for kissing Sharon..."

A relieved smile broke out across Willam's face and though there still seemed to be some disbelief that Courtney was okay with everything she had been told, Willam let the subject drop. They pulled each other in for a final heartfelt kiss as fatigue began to catch up with them. Pulling away, Willam stated quietly, "We were both so stupid."

"We were..." Courtney agreed with a smile. "But I'm still glad this-that _we_ happened."

Returning the smile, Willam placed a soft kiss to the corner of Courtney mouth and murmured, "Yeah, me too."


End file.
